The Long Road to the End
by SB-JILY-KS
Summary: How did Lily Evans and James Potter get together? Sirius thinks he has found the girl for him but can he prove himself? Remus faces the prejudiced views of others and Peter is terrified. From 6th year - Sirius' imprisonment. Rated T for some language.
1. B B, S S, A W D S

**This is my first attempt at a fanfiction. It is Jily and Sirius/OC But Remus, Peter and Snape will be featured heavily and there will also be some Alice/Frank.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own HP and am definitely NOT J.K Rowling, if I was I would write some books about the Marauders, because they're the best. I don't own any characters except Denisa and Danny Wilson**

**Edited - 15/10/2014**

* * *

**Bertie Botts, Slimy Slytherins, and Wrongly Directed Smiles**

* * *

Lily Evans walked through the wall in between platform 9 and 10 at Kings Cross station and onto platform 9 and 3/4. She smiled widely as she tugged her trunk behind her and dodged excited First years, annoyed Slytherins and snogging couples reuniting after a summer apart. She stepped onto the train and immediately started looking in compartments for her best friend and soon found her near the back of the train, Denisa Wilson was sat with her head against the window.

"Hey, Dee" Lily said with a smile, Denisa's head whipped around at her and she gave Lily a big smile before jumping up to hug her tightly

"Lily!" She said "I've missed you so much even though I saw you two days ago!"

Lily laughed "Two days too long" Lily pulled back from the hug

Lily looked at her friend, she looked the same as always her waist length brown hair was up in a high ponytail (like always) but was supporting several sun induced high lights, her brown eyes which were framed by thick dark eyelashes were glittering with happiness, you could always tell Denisa's mood from her eyes, she was already in her school uniform and it was in its baggy state as always, Denisa never liked to reveal her body even though it was envy worthy, she had a big bum that was perfectly round and looked great in jeans and dresses, she had a flat stomach and was definitely not flat chested, her skin had a slight tan, she had dark and perfectly shaped eyebrows. Denisa was modest, she never believed it if someone said she was good-looking and she never wanted people to see her body shape, she never went on dates, no matter who asked her out, she never wore make up except on special occasions and she was extremely loyal, she would sooner die than betray any of her friends, she was also a good-natured, smart and funny person and no one could hardly ever find anything about her to complain about. You could go to her with troubles and she would listen and give advice, she would let you cry on her shoulder and comfort you, you could have a laugh with her and you could also have a serious conversation with her.

Lily was the complete opposite in looks, she had dark red hair that went down to mid back, she had almond shape, emerald-green eyes which were surrounded by black eyelashes (despite her hair colour) She was slender and slim and not extremely tall so she wasn't lanky. She had beautiful blemish free porcelain skin, she had a few light freckles on her cheeks that weren't noticeable unless you were really close. Lily always got lots of male attention because who could deny it? She was drop dead gorgeous. Lily was out going, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and that was mostly why she was put into Gryffindor. She always stood up for people, even if they were in Slytherin, and she never went against her beliefs. Lily was loved by all and was extremely talented, and very much favoured by the potions master Professor Slughorn.

Lily sat down across Denisa and they immediately began catching up, even though they had seen each other two days ago, after all, best friends never ran out of things to say to each other. They went through lots of topics, from chocolate frog cards to flobberworms to Voldemort, when Lily asked how they went through that transition Denisa replied that Voldermort is basically an over grown flobberworm so it was an easy topic change. After about fifteen minutes they were interrupted by Denisa's brother, Danny.

Danny has hazel/green eyes and dark brown hair that was cut short round the sides but kept long at the top. He was a 4th year Ravenclaw. His lips were oddly always a near red/pink colour. Danny and Lily got along very well and Lily always said that he was like the little brother she always wanted.

"Lily-bean" Danny exclaimed and picked up Lily and hugged her extremely tight and until she was red in the face before dropping her and turning to Denisa with his arms open "Sis, you wanna hug too?"

"Nah, I don't think I want my lungs punctured today" Denisa said as she watched Lily rub her ribs

Danny shrugged "Your loss" before turning back to Lily "By the way, James Potter, with the rest of the Marauders following, were looking for you"

"Great, just fan-freaking-tastic" Lily muttered

"You know I don't see why you don't give him a chance" Danny sighed and pushed Denisa away from the window and taking her seat so he was looking at Lily directly "He would have given up long ago if he didn't actually like you. I mean you have rejected loads of guys and have any of them asked you out again? Exactly"

"Look, Danny. You're too young to understand this"

Danny gasped and clutched at his chest "I am one year younger than you two! I'm just two school years underneath you"

"Yeah, yeah. Danny, Potter is only in it for the chase. He doesn't really like me. He just can't handle the fact that I don't swoon for him like all the other girls in the school" Denisa coughed "Except Dee of course"

"Yeah I wouldn't want to get with your man" Denisa smirked and pushed Danny so she could sit by the window again "You should listen to Dan, he's a Ravenclaw so he's obviously smart"

Lily pointed at her "Shut up" Denisa gave her an innocent grin in reply and tightened her ponytail

The three of them talked for while, exchanging funny stories and playful banter until the door burst open and three sweaty Marauders who had wide smiled while their eyes were alive with mischief and an annoyed yet grudgingly smiling Remus walked in and slammed the door shut again.

The Marauders, made up of Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter. Remus had sandy brown hair and amber/brown eyes. He was the talest at about 6 ft 2.5" and had two scars along his cheek. Even so he was quite good-looking. Remus was the quiet one of the group and the most studious but he was also mischievous and was actually the brains behind a lot of the pranks. Peter Pettigrew was short and chubby. He had watery blue eyes and straw like hair, people often wondered why he was part of the Marauders as he seemed so much different to the others, though no one spoke these thoughts out loud as Sirius, Remus and James were very protective of their friends. Sirius had shoulder length dark hair that fell elegantly into his eyes and stormy gray eyes, he had broad shoulders and was 5 ft 9". He was a born trouble maker and the white sheep of his family. He was constantly running havoc and was best friends with James. All the girls, most girls would give anything for a date with him and was deemed a 'player' by the time he was in 3rd year nevertheless, he was extremely loyal and would die before betraying any of his friends and was also extremely intelligent but only showed it in tests and when he wanted to show off. Last but not least was James Potter, he had hazel eyes with flecks of green and gold behind round, wire rimmed glasses, his nose was slightly longer and he had unruly jet black hair that no amount of magic could make it lie flat, he was 6 ft 1" and was broad-shouldered like Sirius yet was skinny at them same time. He too was a born trouble maker and extremely smart without trying, he was loyal and would have considered it a height of dishonour to betray his friends.

"Damn Slytherins, trying to hex us. All we did was plant some dungbombs and charmed their uniforms red and gold, it's not as if we did something terrible" Sirius Black said as he sat down next to Danny not noticing the three occupants of the room. Danny coughed and Sirius head snapped in his direction "Who're you?"

"Danny Wilson" Danny replied before turning to the others who were stood watching the interaction "You guys should sit, Slytherins are not known to forget quickly" Lily looked at him incredulously

James looked round and saw Lily "Evans!" he exclaimed as he sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders which she quickly shrugged off. James grinned and ran a hand through his hair.

Remus had taken a seat next to Sirius and Peter sat next James. Danny stood up "Bye Lils, Sis I'm going to find my friends"

"'Kay, bye" Denisa waved as her brother walked out but before he left he turned and looked Lily in the eye before gesturing to James with a nod and finally walked out

Sirius scooted up closer to Denisa to give Remus some space and all three of them watched as James kept putting his arm around Lily's shoulders and then watched as she pulled it off every time.

"Aw, you guys look so good together" Denisa smiled as Lily's eyes widened and she shot her best friend a dark glare

"Denisa Madeline Wilson! You are supposed to be my best friend. I feel betrayed that you would say that!" Lily said, her glare becoming more pronounced but Denisa couldn't help but notice that Lily's lips twitched

"See even Wilson agrees we should be together" James said, a large grin taking over his face

Denisa raised her eyebrows "Potter, I think you aren't hearing properly. I said that you look good together. Not that you should be together. However I am definitely on Team Jily"

Remus smiled "Jily?" He asked

"James and Lily - Jily" Denisa explained "It's their couple name"

"Prongs! You have a couple name!" Sirius announced "Although, I don't like 'Jily'" Sirius said, James looked like he had been slapped and Lily looked smug "I think 'Lames' sounds better" Sirius let out a bark of laughter while James tried to give him a deadly look but soon gave into his own laughter, while Remus looked like he couldn't believe he was friends with these people.

Denisa smirked at Lily who was still glaring, but now at Sirius too "Maybe we should make one for Potter and Black. I mean Black is who I'd want Potter to settle down with if you never say 'yes' Lils" Denisa said in an attempt to make amends

Lily's glare faded and was replaced by a smirk matching Denisa's "How about Jirius"

"I like it" Denisa smiled at Remus "Don't you agree?"

Remus grinned "Oh absolutely"

Out of all the Marauders the girls got on with Remus the best. He was a prefect with Lily so she spent a lot of time with him on patrols and then Denisa was partnered with him in Defence Against the Dark Arts and they became friends there.

James and Sirius went red in the face "We are not gay!" Sirius and James shouted at the same time

Lily smiled "No one said you were. Although you two do seem a bit defensive about it. You can tell us" She said gesturing to her and Denisa "We don't judge"

Denisa nodded enthusiastically while Remus' shoulders were shaking with silent laughter

Sirius was about to reply when they were interrupted

"Anything off the trolley, dears" A short plump Witch asked

"Food!" Sirius shouted

Sirius, James, Remus, Denisa and Peter, who seemed to have woken up at the mention of food, got up. Sirius and James and Peter filled their arms with a bit of everything, while Remus took some Chocolate Frogs and Cauldron Cakes and Denisa got some Pumpkin Pasties for Lily, Chocolate Frogs, Liquorice Wands and two boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, Denisa's favourite treats along with Honeydukes Chocolate.

Denisa gave the Pumpkin Pasties to Lily along with some Chocolate Frogs and Liquorice Wands, while she opened her Bertie Botts and took out a white bean with pink specks and put it in her mouth and chewed before pulling a face but not spitting it out, "Dirt," Denisa muttered "I always get dirt"

Denisa looked up to find Lily watching in revolution as James and Sirius stuffed their faces with as many sweets as they could. Denisa shrugged and pulled out another bean, this time light blue with red swirls, Denisa put it in her mouth and chewed before choking a little and spitting it out into a tissue. Lily raised an eyebrow in questioning, something Denisa was always jealous of as she could only raise two, and Denisa answered with a wheeze "Tobacco"

Sirius looked round "Tobacco?" He asked "Didn't know they had those, did you Prongs?"

"They mean every flavour, Padfoot" James sighed and patted his stomach

Lily took a plain, emerald-green bean and put it in her mouth and smiled relieved "Chocolate"

Denisa huffed "I always get the yucky ones" She said and tightened her ponytail

Lily smiled "Maybe you should stop eating them so much then"

Denisa gasped "Lily Marie Evans!" She said mocking slightly at Lily's earlier use of Denisa's full name "You know they are my favorite sweets! You know now I hope your sister marries Vernon the Walrus. I'm sure you'll look absolutely spiffing in the bright orange, puffy dress your sister will make you wear after your mum convinces her to make you a bridesmaid"

"Hey! You know my mum would make Tuney invite you! So you'll have to be put through watching the whole thing" Lily replied while the boys watched with raised eyebrows and amused expressions

"Yeah well I can bring one of those muggle cameras and take many pictures of you and the dress that clashes terribly. I'll even show it to Potter and he'll finally give up on you"

Lily smiled "D'you think that would work" She asked hopefully

"Nah, he'd love you even if you were dressed in a garbage bag"

"It's true" Sirius, Remus and Peter affirmed with nods while James was had a slightly hurt expression by Lily's hopefulness. No one but Denisa noticed and she shot him a sympathetic smile

"So Evans, you need a date to this wedding?" James said, regaining his composure and putting a large grin on his face

"No Potter. How many times do I have to say it NO!" Lily said before getting up and leaving

Sirius whistled "Well that went well. Tough luck Prongs" A scream was heard before Lily came back in perfectly composed

"What's with those nicknames anyway?" Lily asked "I mean I know what Moony is but Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?"

"How do you know what Moony means?" Sirius demanded

Lily was about to answer but Denisa cut in "Well obviously he used to moon people" Denisa said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world while shooting a meaningful look towards Lily.

Lily and Denisa had their suspicions in 3rd year that Remus Lupin was a werewolf. When Snape started to get suspicious too in 5th year Denisa told Lily to do anything to get him to change his mind and throw him off the scent. Lily had told him that she had met Remus' mother and that she was extremely sickly woman, something that most of the women in the family got when they reached a certain age. Despite knowing about Remus' 'Furry Little Problem' they never thought of him differently and just as the Remus they always knew. People had heard James saying Remus had a 'Furry Little Problem' and people thought Remus owned a badly behaved rabbit, the girls encouraged this as much as possible without any of the Marauders knowing. Denisa had even said the rabbit had bit her.

The Marauders all burst out laughing except Remus who was smiling yet looking at the girls suspiciously.

"So come on, what's with the nicknames. Explain" Lily said clapping her hands

"Sorry, Marauder secret" Sirius said loftily while the other three nodded. The girls sighed but nodded anyway, accepting they weren't going to find out anything.

Denisa picked out another bean, a sickly brown looking bean, and despite the looks the others were giving the bean she put it in her mouth and chewed "Vanilla, it's not disgusting, it's vanilla" Lily smiled at Denisa while the Marauders except Remus, who knew about what disgusting beans Denisa normally got, looked at her like she was crazy. Denisa, feeling lucky pulled out another bean, a bright yellow bean with brown spots, and put it in her mouth and chewed the others were watching her closely, she smiled before saying "Toffee" then looked up at the Marauders and Lily "What?"

James opened his mouth to answer but the door burst open and an angry-looking Mulciber walked in sporting hair or red and gold, pink robes and antennas complete with fluffy balls at the ends. Denisa burst out laughing while Lily looked at James with anger

"Oh, Mulciber. What a horrible surprise" Sirius said and smiled at Denisa who was currently on the floor laughing

"Take the charm of you disgusting excuse for a pureblood, you'd be better suited as a dog" Mulciber sneered making the Marauders exchange looks before laughing

"Mulciber if you wanted to insult me you should have said I was better suited as a Death Eater, or a Slytherin, or you" Sirius said "And notice how all those things apply to you"

"Get out Mulciber and Black shut up" Lily said. Mulciber sneered

"People with filthy blood shouldn't talk to their superiors like that" Mulciber said to Lily "Mudblood" Mulciber muttered under his breath

The boys stood up wands raised and Denisa stopped laughing, but no one noticed until Mulciber was sent flying against the opposite compartments door, but Denisa didn't stop she sent as many hexes and curses as she could, most were non-verbal, and so fast that Mulciber could barely get any shield charms up let alone send any curses back

When Denisa finally stopped Mulciber resembled an over grown slug, warts and flying bat bogeys were all over his face and he still had the earlier Marauders prank on him. Denisa looked at him in disgust "Lily is worth one million of you and if any one has filthy blood it's you. You're a worthless, disgraceful monster and if you ever speak to her like that again I will do much worse than I did today" Denisa spoke in a cold, hard voice that was eerily calm voice before slamming the door and sitting in her seat with tears streaming down her face

The Marauders were stood watching and not believing that innocent, quiet Denisa Wilson just did that. Of course she definitely wasn't quiet, they just didn't know her. Sirius was first to regain composure and hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer

"You shouldn't have done that" Lily said quietly "You know what they're like, the Slytherins. They'll get you back for this"

Denisa sniffed, her hand was gripping her wand hard "I don't care. How can he talk to you like that. It makes me sick. Filthy blood" Denisa scoffed "Your blood isn't filthy, no muggleborns blood is filthy, it's those stupid gits that talk about blood supremacy who have dirty blood" Denisa wiped her tears and looked up for the first time to see Lily kneeling in front of her and Sirius next to her with his arm around her

Lily pulled Denisa into a tight hug "I'm sorry Lils, I lost control." Denisa whispered

"It's all right. Thanks for defending me" Lily whispered back

"Any time"

The girls pulled away and sat back down. Denisa smiled hesitantly at the others "Sorry you had to see that"

James shook his head "It's fine. You were so fast. Mulciber couldn't do anything" James smiled

Remus chuckled "Well she is the best in our year at DADA"

"No, that's you Remus" Denisa smiled

James looked round at Lily "So Evans you want to go out some time?"

Lily stared at him "Are you serious?"

Sirius shook his head "Really Evans? Five years at school together and you still don't know that I'm Sirius"

Denisa smiled but Lily looked murderous "Really Black? Five years and you still don't know that pun is over done and not funny" Lily turned back to James "And it's a 'no' to your offer Potter. I'd rather jump of the Astronomy Tower"

James smirked "And into my arms, as I would be waiting for you at the bottom"

Lily shook her head in annoyance "Why don't you guys go back to your compartment?"

Remus nodded "Yeah guys we should go we need to change into our uniforms, we'll be there soon"

The Marauders nodded and all stood up. James took Lily's hand, despite her efforts to pull it away, and planted a kiss on it "Goodbye my love" Lily pretended to gag and rubbed her hand on her trousers. Denisa waved at the others and the Marauders finally left.

Denisa laid down while Lily got changed. "James really likes you, Lils" Denisa said airily

"Denisa, shut up please. I've already told you. He's only in it for the chase. Once he gets me he's going to drop me like all the others"

Denisa sat up "Lily. It's not like all the others. I can tell"

Lily sighed and tightened up her tie "Whatever. I don't like him so I don't need to give him a chance"

"You don't like him because you don't know him"

"It's not going to happen so forget it"

Denisa raised her hands in surrender "Fine, fine. But you never know, he could be The One"

Lily raised her eyebrows "The One? I doubt it. James Potter will never be The One for me"

Denisa smirked and the train halted to a stop "Whatever you say Lils" Denisa got her trunk down along with her tawny owl called Pizza, Danny called the owl that once and now it only come when called Pizza, and Lily brought down her black and white Norwegian forest cat that had bright blue eyes called Meme and her trunk.

They walked out of the train and got on one of the Thestral drawn carriages. Denisa had been able to see them since second year after she saw her Grandmother die, Lily couldn't see them. We get on a carriage with Alice Fortescue, Mary MacDonald and Frank Longbottom, who had his arm around Alice's waist, three Gryffindors in seventh year. Alice had a round face, big brown eyes and shoulder length blonde hair, Mary had brown hair that was in a pixie cut, a thin face and blue eyes, Frank had short brown hair and brown eyes.

Lily and Denisa were good friends with Alice, Frank and Mary they had always looked out for them when Lily and Dee were first years and helped them find their ways around. Lily and Mary worked together to get Frank and Alice together by means of manipulation and pretend love potions, and now Frank and Alice have been going out for a year and a half and are disgustingly and blissfully happy.

"How were your summers?" Alice asks, her mouth turning up into a smile

"Uneventful, I mainly read and wrote letters to Dee and Remus and burning letters from Potter" Lily said shrugging

Alice and Mary giggled while Frank shook his head in amusement

"What about you Dee?" Mary said turning towards Denisa

"I helped my Grandpa with the farm, six new unicorn foals were born last week. The lake is finished and I've been teaching Snuffles tricks" Denisa answered "And Grandpa bought a Phoenix and I wrote to Lily, a lot."

Denisa and Danny lived on a magical farm with their Grandpa, there are lots of magical animals like Unicorns - which weren't captive but still lived there, Crups - Jack Russel terrier like animals with forked tails, Hippogriffs, Grindylows, Bowtruckles, Kneazles, Fairies, Nifflers etc. The only non-magical animal there is Denisa's black German Shepard, Snuffles. Denisa's mother couldn't handle looking after her and Danny so she abandoned them at her parents doorstep and was never seen again.

"How about you guys?" Lily asked

"I went shopping with Mary and on dates with Frank. Wrote letters to people from school, the usual" Alice said

"Same as Alice except I didn't go on any dates with Frank" Mary said smiling

Lily smiled then looked sad "I'm going to miss you guys. This is your last year here"

Alice and Mary teared up "I know. Merlin I don't want to leave Hogwarts" Mary sighed

"I'm going to miss playing on the team" Frank looked downwards, he was Keeper for the team

Alice turned to look at him slightly angrily but mostly amused "Boys and their Qudditch"

Denisa smiled "I love Qudditch, it's not just boys"

Lily nodded vigorously as the carriage stopped "Qudditch is so interesting, so much better than football and rugby"

Denisa nodded "Yeah much better that fatblue and rushby"

Lily laughed "Football and rugby, Dee, not fatblue and rushby"

Denisa shrugged "Still not better than Quidditch" She said as they walked into the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table near the middle of the table, the teachers were all sat at the front of the hall except for Professor McGonagall who was with the first years, the sorting hat was sitting on the stool.

Lily remembered when she had to go up there and everything the hat had said

_"Hmm, you're a tricky one to place. You are loyal, maybe Hufflepuff? But I don't think you would fit in there, no, no definitely not. You're very intelligent Ravenclaw would do you good but you wouldn't be happy with them" The Sorting Hat said in her head "You're very ambitious, being muggleborn you want to prove you belong don't you? Hm... Slytherin is the house of ambition but you being muggleborn would allow you to be ridiculed. No wouldn't want that"_

_"I don't care" Lily thought "Let them bully me, It won't bother me. Being muggleborn is nothing to be ashamed of"_

_"Oh, a brave little one aren't you. It's all here in your head. Yes you are willing to stand up to what's wrong, you stand up for people who need support. Your heart is incredibly brave and where dwell the brave at heart? Chivalry and daring nerve? It had better be_ GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily clapped along as another little first year joined Gryffindor. Her stomach grumbled and she couldn't help but wish that the sorting would hurry up. Next to her Denisa was rubbing her stomach and staring at the gold plates waiting for them to fill with food. She looked up to see James staring at her from the end of the table, his gaze made her feel uneasy yet it left a weird feeling of butterflies in her stomach, he gave her a wide smile which she returned with a small one and turned around. Her stomach once again felt like butterflies had infested her and she put it down to hunger.

Finally the last first year - Nigel Francis - was sorted into Hufflepuff and Dumbledore stood up to the podium, his long white beard swishing and his blue eyes twinkling.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. First of all I have some announcements, our caretaker Mr Filch has asked me to tell students the list of forbidden objects is on his office door, if you would like a copy please ask him. The Forbidden Forest is as by name, forbidden" Dumbledore said his eyes sliding over to look at the Marauders who were giving him innocent grins and the thumbs up "this year we have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, please welcome Professor Dean Stanley" A tall man with ice blue eyes that held an odd warmth stood up, he had a head full of black hair that was perfectly combed and he seemed no older than thirty. Everyone clapped and he gave a little nod of acknowledgement and sat back down "Now, dig in" Dumbledore waved his hand and immediately the golden platters filled with food.

Lily took some chicken, steamed vegetables and roast potatoes while Lily took some steamed vegetables, shepherds pie and roast potatoes along with some gravy on top. Someone plopped down in front of Lily and she looked up to see James Potter sitting across from her and Sirius Black in front of Dee while Remus sat next to Lily and Peter next to Dee.

The boys immediately started piling food onto their plates and James, Sirius and Peter stuffed their faces while Remus ate in a more dignified manner.

Denisa frowned "How can you guys eat like that and not get fat?" She asked James and Sirius, Sirius opened his full mouth to answer but Denisa put a hand up "Swallow first please" She said looking away

Sirius swallowed then shrugged and said "Just lucky I guess"

Lily nodded "Really lucky. I guess it's because you're both tall. Another question, why did you guys come here? Is it so we can have more reasons why Remus is better than you two?" Lily asked looking generally questioning

James shook his head "Nah, I wanted to be in the presence of the love of my life" He smiled "So you want to go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday?"

Lily sighed "Potter, no I would not like to go to Hogsmeade with you, I would rather spend the day with Moaning Myrtle and there is no Hogsmeade visit scheduled for Saturday, how would we get there?"

"Ah, you said no so you will not be let in on this Marauder secret" James said wagging his finger "Isn't that right Padfoot" He nudged Sirius who was watching Denisa push her food around her plate

"Yeah, of course" Sirius said and returned to stuffing his mouth with weird mixtures of food

Remus having noticed Sirius' lingering gaze raised an eyebrow but said nothing

"It's your choice, say yes and get to go on a fantastic date with yours truly and also get to learn one of the Marauders many secrets, and trust me its good, or say no and you get to spend Saturday night doing homework with Wilson" James said gesturing to Denisa who was tightening her ponytail

"Wow, that is such an easy choice" Lily said "Homework with Dee over you any day"

James feigned hurt my grasping at his chest "You wound me Evans"

"Good" Lily smirked

"What makes you think I'm going to do homework on a Saturday?" Denisa asked

"Well, don't let Potter know I'm free" Lily whispered

Denisa nodded then felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around quickly to see Amos Diggory a seventh year Hufflepuff looking at her

"Hi, Denisa. I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade next visit" He said giving her a charming smile, or what he thought was charming she thought he looked constipated

"No thank you" Denisa said and returned to eating her food but Amos was still behind her looking affronted

"Why not?" He demanded

Denisa turned around again "I just don't like you that way and frankly I don't want to go on a date with you. Sorry if that sounds mean." She turned back around and heard footsteps indicating Amos had left

Lily turned to her best friend "Dee, why didn't you say yes?"

"I didn't want to go out with him" Denisa put some shepherds pie in her mouth "Plus did you see that smile he gave me, I thought he was about to throw up on me. Why does it matter that I said no?"

"Because you've never had a boyfriend and he could have been" Lily said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

"I have had a boyfriend, remember that muggle I date during summer last year?"

"Okay you've had one" Lily sighed

"Actually I have had more than one, and I don't want another one until it's someone I like, or t least find attractive. Frankly blondes aren't my thing. I'm more into dark hair" Denisa said "To be honest, I think he's more arrogant than Black and Potter put together, but if you think he's good-looking then by all means go after him yourself"

"Nah, I don't like blondes hair either" Lily said not noticing James ecstatic grin as he ran his hand through his dark hair

The food changed and became desert. Denisa took some vanilla cheesecake and Lily took some Treacle tart along with Remus while the others took a little of everything. They quickly ate and Denisa, James, Sirius and Peter got up to leave. Remus and Lily were prefects and were going to help the first years

They all walked down the halls, making small talk along the way. As the four of them made their way to the common room they ran into Severus Snape with Avery, a murderous Mulciber and Regulus Black who was pointedly not looking at his brother

"Well, well, well we were just looking for you" Avery sneered at Denisa who was gripping her wand in her pocket

"Really that's nice" Denisa said not looking affected

"Yes it's going to be nice for us but not for you" Mulciber smiled eerily

"Well, it's nice to know you knew you couldn't take me on by yourself and had to get reinforcements" Denisa smirked

"No, I just wanted to make sure we all got a go at you"

"Shove off Mulciber and go back to the hole you crawled out of" James said he pulled his wand out of his pocket slowly and held it behind his back

"You're a dirty blood traitor, hanging on that Mudbloods every word, hanging out with blood traitors and dirtying up your Pureblood name. You should be ashamed to even look us in the eye" Mulciber spat

"No, you should be ashamed of thinking about yourself as superior to us. Muggleborns have more magic in their little finger than you do in that whole lump you call a body" Sirius said his hands in his pocket, looking casual when actually he was holding his wand

"How dare you talk to us like that! You call yourself a Black?!" Avery shouted taking a step closer "It is bad enough that you have diminished your family name but to talk to honourable purebloods in that way! Thank Merlin your brother did not take after you. Regulus is a noble pureblood and will be a loyal servant to the Dark Lord"

Sirius recoiled slightly but regained composure immediately and spared a glance at his brother who was looking at Sirius fearfully and shaking his head slightly. "Shut up" Sirius snarled and pulled out his wand and so did Avery

Curses and hexes flew between them and Avery was getting hit most making Mulciber jump into the duel to making it two against one, James started duelling Mulciber while Avery duelled with Sirius.

"Come on Snape, take on the little rat boy or the girl, you too Regulus. The Dark Lord doesn't accept cowards" Avery commanded

Snape started firing curses at Denisa who easily deflected them and sent of her own ones just as quickly as she had earlier, while Regulus was duelling Peter though neither seemed to be trying.

"Can you get Lily to talk to me" Snape said in a quiet voice before sending another hex

"You're crazy. As if she'll talk to you" Denisa sneered

"She hates me because of you!" Snape said, "You put her against me!" He said and fired another hex, Denisa deflected it

"No she hates you because you're obsessed with Voldemort and becoming a Death Eater, she hates you because you called her a Mu- you called her something she shouldn't have heard from her best friend"

"I'm going to make you pay for taking her away from me!" Snape sneered and shouted "Diffindo"

A cut emerged on Denisa's shoulder she gasped before sending a Bat Bogey Hex towards Snape which hit him perfectly, Snape screeched as the bat bogeys attacked him. Denisa ran towards Regulus and Peter and sent an apologetic look towards Regulus before putting him in a full body bind and going putting one on Mulciber and a stunner on Avery.

"Are you okay Wilson?" James asked gesturing to her heavily bleeding shoulder

Denisa looked at it "Lily is going to kill me" Denisa looked back up at James "Do you know any healing spells?"

James nodded, "But Sirius is better at cuts and stuff" Denisa nodded and walked over to Sirius

"Do you mind?" She asked and looked at her shoulder

Sirius shot a dark look at Snape before waving his wand at her shoulder effectively closing it up, he then muttered another incantation which fixed her robes.

Denisa smiled at him "Thank you" Sirius nodded then looked at Regulus with sad eyes and looked round to find Denisa waiting for him and James and Peter a few metres ahead of him.

"Are you okay?" Denisa asked quietly

Sirius smiled though it looked strained "Yeah, yeah I'm fine"

The four of them walked into the common room to find Remus and Lily on the couch waiting for them. Lily noticed them first

"Where were you? Dee I was worried, I thought maybe Mulciber got to you." Lily said as she pulled Denisa in for a hug

"We've hugged a lot today" Denisa smiled tightening her hold on Lily

"Yeah. Girls are weird aren't they?" Lily laughed as she pulled away

"I'm sorry for worrying you, don't worry nothing happened" Denisa said, sending a look to the others that basically meant 'You say anything to Lily and I kill you'

"Yeah nothing happened, we just got caught on a moving staircase" James offered

"Bloody things always find the worst times" Sirius said

"Yeah it was terrible, I nearly fell off the edge, but Denisa saved me" Peter said offering Denisa a smile

Lily nodded "Come on, Dee. Bedtime"

"Yes mother" Denisa said and began running off as Lily tried to hit her

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter ran up to the "Marauders Dorm" and collapsed on their beds.

"Evans smiled at me today" James sighed blissfully

"Are you sure she wasn't cringing, or smiling at someone else?" Peter asked

"She could have been smiling at Moony, Evans likes Moony" Sirius said

"Lily didn't smile at me" Remus said "So it must have been at someone else"

"Maybe Alice?" Peter offered

"Or Mary, or Frank" Sirius said

"Maybe she was smiling at -" Remus began but was interrupted by James who shouted

"Is it so hard to believe she smiled at me and not anyone else!?"

"Yes" Peter affirmed

"Obviously" Remus replied

"It's been years Prongs and this is the first time she 'supposedly' smiled at you. Evans never directs her smiles at you"

"She smiled at me last year when we flooded the Slytherin common room" James said

"No, she was laughing at you because you slipped on some of the water that escaped" Peter corrected

"What about when we charmed all the owls bright pink? She smiled at me then"

"No, that was because one of the crapped in your hair and you didn't know" Remus said James faltered and put his hand on his head

"How about that time when we pushed those Slytherins into the Black Lake after they called her the M word?"

"You mean right before the Giant Squid made you its own personal doll?" Sirius asked

James sighed "Maybe she didn't smile at me"

"Cheer up Prongs, I've got a great idea for a prank" Sirius announced

Peter clapped his hands in excitement, while Remus seemed intrigued and James was still sulking

"You know how the Ravenclaws have to answer a riddle or question to get into the common room?" The others nodded "How about we bewitch it ask questions like "Why is Sirius Black so damn sexy?" and "Why did Merlin give Sirius Black such good looks when he could have spread it out evenly?"

"That- That is actually a really good idea, Padfoot" Remus said smiling "We should wait until January then, we need to find charms and plan it out"

"Yeah" Sirus said and then scoffed "Why are you surprised, I am always coming up with good pranks"

"Name one" Remus challenged

"Charming all the suits of armour to scream insults at Slytherins" Sirius said smugly

"That was James' idea" Remus said

"Erm, no it was mine but as I said most of the pranks were my ideas so I can think of another one. Slipping a love potion into Snape's pumpkin juice making him announce his love for Minnie"

"That-" Remus sighed "Fine that was your idea"

"Told you" Sirius stuck his tongue out at Remus who looked put off but the look was replaced by happiness

"Padfoot, I couldn't help but notice that you were staring at Denisa earlier" Remus said smirking

Sirius paled slightly "No I wasn't"

"Yes you were, and on the train when she was laughing you were staring"

Sirius shrugged "Her laugh was funny"

"Her laugh was normal"

"Goodnight Moony" Sirius said and turned in his bed and closed his eyes.

Remus grinned and also turned in his bed "G'night Padfoot"

...

"Do you really think she wasn't smiling at me?"

"SHUT UP PRONGS!" Remus, Sirius and Peter shouted

"FINE!" James shouted back and closed his eyes

McGonagall walked along the table giving students their time tables and soon enough she made it to Lily, Denisa and the Marauders. "Miss Evans, your timetable?"

"Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes and Herbology" Lily said and McGonagall handed her the time table before turning to Denisa who answered with out being asked

"Potions, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Charms, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, Divination and Defence Against the Dark Arts" Denisa said and accepted her time table with a smile "Thank you"

McGonagall sighed deeply as she turned to the Marauders "I'm doing the same as Lily but with Astronomy too" Remus said "Thank you" And took hold of his timetable

"Potions, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Charms, Muggle Studies, Herbology, Astronomy and Defence Against the Dark Arts and Divination" Sirius said "Thanks, Minnie" He looked at his timetable and nodded slightly

"Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Transfiguration and Divination" Peter said "Thanks, Professor"

"Mr Potter?" McGonagall said tiredly

"Potions, Ancient Runes, Charms, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Transfiguration and that is it" James said and accepted his timetable with a grin "Thanks Minnie" McGonagall scowled at him and walked away "She loves me" James said easily


	2. Moaning, Corruption, Stench & Christmas

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I only own Denisa and Danny Wilson**

**Just so you know currently they're in sixth year and its going to go quite fast. Seventh year is when everything turns around**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Moaning, Corruption, Stench and Christmas**

Remus always woke up at 6:30 sharp. He didn't know why but he had been this way since he was ten. But today he woke up two hours early because one of his best friends by the name of James Potter was once again moaning in his sleep. As a result of being a werewolf Remus' senses were heightened, especially his sense of smell and hearing. So even though James had his curtains drawn and Sirius' bed was in the middle of both of them, Remus could still hear James moaning

"Lillleee... I.. lurvvvveee.. yooooo" James moaned from his bed

Remus covered his ears with his pillow attempting to block out the noise but to no avail.

"Lillllleeee... nooo I... lovee yoouuuu more"

Remus had had enough, he whipped off his red duvet and got out of bed, clad in only an old t-shirt and pyjama pants, and took hold of his wand and crept his way to James' bed. Carefully he opened the hangings and whispered 'Aguamenti' while pointing his want at James' face, immediately cold water burst from his wand and on to James' face soaking him

"ARGH!" James screamed and jumped up to stand on the bed but slipped on his duvet and landed on the floor with a very loud THUD. James' eyes met to feet slowly his eyes made their way up to meet the face of an annoyed best friend "Moony what in Merlin's name are you doing?!" James shouted gesturing to the water droplets dripping from his face

"You were moaning again" Remus replied simply "I've told you thousands of times to sound proof your hangings but you never do, so you will just have to deal with water in the morning like I have to deal with you incessant moaning" Remus began walking to his bed and climbed in, burrowing himself in the warm enclosure of his duvet and pillow. But Remus Lupin could no longer sleep. Cursing James Potter under his breath he got up again, waved his wand at his bed which made itself and got dressed.

He turned around to find James, dressed, watching Sirius sleep, a mischievous look in his eyes and his wand in his hand, contemplating what to do to his best friend. Remus smirked, forgetting his annoyance with James, and joined him.

They both began casting spells on their sleeping friend, whispering them as not to wake Sirius who also had heightened senses from being a dog animagus. About five minutes later they were done. Sirius' hair was in tight ringlets and a silver and green ribbon was being used as a headband, his face was covered in 24 hour make up charms which were done quite terribly as the boys had no experience with them, his lips were a bright pink shade and the lipstick charm surrounded his mouth too, one of his eye lids was green and the other orange, he had silver eye liner on and burgundy blush.

Remus cast a quick silencing charm on James who was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face. When James finally composed himself Remus took the charm off.

"How longs do you think it will take him to realise after he wakes up?" James asked

"Well, what is the first thing Padfoot does when he wakes up?" Remus replied

"Fix his hair. He is going to have a lot to fix today" James smirked and turned back to look at Sirius

Remus smiled "The hair is the only thing he can fix today, the make up is permanent for 24 hours"

"Are we going to do anything to Wormtail?" James asked, gesturing to his snoring friend

Remus shrugged "Go on then"

They made their way over to Peters bed which was the furthest away, but as they approached they were hit with an extremely unpleasant smell, it smelt like rotten eggs, sewage and bleach, Remus' eyes started watering at three metres away and he immediately recoiled, James still hadn't noticed the smell as his sense of smell wasn't as strong, but the second he got a whiff he started coughing and spluttering and clutched at his throat as he made his way make to Remus running.

"Merlin, what was that smell?" James asked, his nose felt like it was melting

"We've been here a month and I don't think he has ever put his sheets out for the House Elves to wash" Remus said casting the sleeping Peter a disgusted look

"Should we get the House Elves to wash the sheet?"

Remus looked at James as if he was insane "That would be murderous, Prongs. I couldn't do that to the House Elves, they make the best food. We've been to the kitchens so many time, they love us. I would feel like we were betraying them"

James nodded "You're right Moony" James sighed "What should we do?"

Remus shrugged "I don't know. Cast some charms on our noses to prevent the smell and 'Scourgify' the whole thing. Hopefully it will work"

"I hope so, or else the smell might spread throughout the room" James and Remus shivered

They jumped as Sirius let out a loud snore.

"Lucky for Padfoot it's Saturday" Remus said

"Unlucky for Padfoot this means he can't sneak off to Hogsmeade because he looks like a drag Queen" James replied "I'm bored can we wake Padfoot up?"

Remus raised an eyebrow "How do you propose we do that?" Asked Remus with a glint in his eye

James said nothing but did a swish and flick of his wand causing Sirius' mattress to start levitating towards the door that Remus had just opened, they made their way downstairs and James stopped

"What should I do now?" James asked in a whisper

Remus thought for a moment before smirking, "I think the Giant Squid wants some company"

James smiled "I knew there was a reason we kept you around"

James and Remus, followed by a mattress carrying a sleeping Sirius made their way out of the Portrait hole and down the corridors. Until they were outside and standing in front of the Black Lake. James swished his wand towards the Black Lake and the Mattress followed. James swished his wand again and the mattress began to slowly tip. Sirius having realised he was moving sat up and saw the grinning faces of two of his best friends, one of which was holding a wizard camera and snapping pictures and then all he could see was bubbles and water and all he could feel was ice cold liquid against his skin. Sirius swam upwards and out of the water.

"I'm going to kill you both!" Sirius roared as he began to chase his laughing best mates "Then I'm going to bury you so deep in the Forbidden Forest that no one will ever find you again! And when people talk about you they will talk about how stupid Remus and James were to take a stroll in the forest when there are crazy, man-eating Acromantulas! 'Cos that's what I'll tell everyo- STOP LAUGHING"

James and Sirius stopped running and looked at Sirius then each other before laughing again.

"This isn't funny!" Sirius whined "I'm cold, it's October and you threw me into the lake!"

Remus regained himself for long enough to dry Sirius with his wand

"Thanks, what time is it anyway?" Sirius asked

James checked his watch "6:00"

"Seeing as we're up why don't we plan a prank?" Remus asked

James and Sirius exchanged affectionate looks "Aw, Padfoot. We have officially ruined the goody, goody prefect that was once Remus John Lupin"

"Yes, Prongs. This is a good day. This day we rejoice! This day we prank the stinky, slimy, Slytherins! This day we celebrate Marauder Moony on finally becoming a prankster and trouble maker extraordinaire!"

"REJOICE FOR MOONY! REJOICE FOR MOONY!" James chanted with Sirius joining in "REJOICE FOR MOONY! REJOICE FOR MOONY!"

Remus put his head in his hands "Why did I even speak?" He muttered

"REJOICE FOR MOONY! REJOICE FOR MOONY! REJOICE FOR MO-"

"Why are you 'rejoicing' for Remus?" A feminine voice asked

The boys turned around to find Lily and Denisa, slightly sweaty and in sweat pants, trainers, and running tops and both had high ponytails, but for Denisa it was no different than any other day

"Well, Evans we have officially corrupted Moony" James offered "And may I say you are looking absolutely beautiful today, would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me?"

Lily was about to answer but was cut off by Denisa who was looking at Sirius weirdly

"Why are you wearing make up?" Denisa asked Sirius

Remus and James started laughing as Sirius pulled out a mirror from his pyjama pants pocket, why in Merlin's good name he had one in there was unknown, and turned towards James and Sirius with a murderous glare. Both boys were pushing and shoving each other as they were trying to put each other in front of Sirius' wrath.

Denisa smiled and pulled out her wand before waving it at Sirius' face, effectively removing the make up. Remus and James exchanged looks

"We thought it was permanent for 24 hours" James said looking disappointed

"It is for but there is a counter-charm for when the charm isn't done properly and you guys certainly didn't do it properly" Denisa said

Sirius wrapped his arms around Denisa and picked her up off the ground hugging her "Thank you, thank you, thank you"

Denisa patted his head "Yeah, yeah let me down"

"So Evans, you never answered my question. Will you go out with me?" James smirked

"No, Potter you're an arrogant toe-rag and I will never go out with you" Lily replied with a glare.

"I bet they get together in seventh year" Denisa whispered to Remus and Sirius

"No, I think sometime later this year" Remus whispered back

"I bet never" Sirius whispered

"How about it, five galleons each from the ones who lose?" Denisa said putting her hand out, both boys immediately shook

"What are you guys doing here so early?" Sirius asked breaking Lily and James out of their arguement

"Jogging, she made me" Lily said pointing at Denisa

"Hey! That's not fair you could have said 'no'" Denisa crossed he arms

"I did, but you dragged me out"

"Only because you promised"

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did"

"Didn't" Lily insisted

"Did" Denisa challenged

"Didn't"

"Did"

"Didn't"

"Didn't" Denisa smirked

"Did"

"Ha!" Denisa said "I won"

"Won what?" Lily said

"Whatever we were just doing" Denisa shrugged

Sirius and James snickered causing the girls heads to whip round

"I forgot you guys were here" Denisa said

"How can you forget about the all mighty Sirius Orion Black!?" Sirius said mocking anger

Denisa shrugged "Quite easily as it happens"

Sirius breathed in sharply "You wound me Wilson"

"You bore me Black" Denisa said airily Sirius opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Lily

"POTTER I SAID NO AND NO MEANS NO, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!? OR ARE YOU SO THICK THAT YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND A TWO LETTER WORD?" Lily shouted while James stood the grinning from ear to ear

"You're so beautiful when you shout" James replied

Lily huffed and stormed off muttering

Denisa smiled as Lily stormed off "You're the only one who makes her this angry" she said to James

"That's not a good thing" Remus muttered

"Oh, it is a good thing. It's passion. I remember once my Grandma told me how she use to hate Grandpa for most of their time at Hogwarts. He would make her so angry and she would scream and shout at him but he never flinched, just smiled at her. Well soon my Grandpa started to change, he wouldn't annoy her as much and they would have normal conversation. He'd joke about and make her laugh, harder than anyone else. Even though he could have made her extremely angry he could also have made her feel like the happiest person on Earth."

"So you're saying me and Lily have passion and that I could make her very happy?" James asked and ran a hand through his unruly hair

"Yes. You could but I also think you should try giving her some space, don't ask her out every second. Try having an actual conversation, one that doesn't end with her storming off. Maybe try dating someone so you can see how she reacts?" James nodded

"Does anyone make you that angry?" Remus asked glancing at Sirius quickly then looking her in the eye

Denisa smiled "Not yet. But I believe it could happen soon"

"DENISA!" Lily shouted from a window on the second floor

"Well that's my cue to leave, think about what I said Potter." Denisa smiled and walked off

It was now mid-December, a Saturday with Hogsmeade visit scheduled, and James was keeping his distance from Lily and had begun to go out with lots of girls, about four per week. Lily didn't seem affected but Denisa couldn't help but notice a flash of sadness in her eyes as James' newest girlfriend Silvia Hornsby, a ditzy blonde Hufflepuff, sat on his lap in the Great Hall and promptly stuck her tongue down his throat.

"That's disgusting, we're eating here" Denisa cast James and Silvia a look of annoyance and pushed her plate away from her "When's the last time Potter asked you out?"

"October" Lily said, looking slightly confused

"Wow"

"Yeah, it's... different" Lily said uncertainly

"Good different or bad different?" Denisa asked casually, yet on the inside was exploding with happiness that Lily was finally talking about James

"I don't know" Lily said. Denisa dropped her head on the table and sighed "Are you getting the Marauders any presents?"

"Dunno, if they get me presents I'll get them presents" Denisa shrugged "What about you?"

"Same as you" Lily looked down at the Marauders where Sirius was pretending to gag and Peter was giggling while Remus just smiled and averted his eyes from the snogging couple "Lets go ask if they're getting us presents" Lily said and grabbed Denisa's hand and began pulling her over to the Marauders where she collapsed next to Remus leaving Denisa next to Sirius. James opened an eye and looked at Denisa who winked at him and mouthed 'Carry on' and glanced at Lily.

"Remus, Black, Peter, are any of you going to get me and Dee a present?" Lily asked as she looked directly at Remus trying not to look at James and Silvia

"Of course" Remus said "And for Dee too"

"Remus, we already knew you would" Lily smiled and nudged him

"Yeah, definitely no doubt you wouldn't. You _are_ our favourite Marauder" Denisa smiled at him, completely missing the annoyed and slightly jealous look Sirius had on his face, Remus of course, being Remus and never missing anything, noticed

"I'm going to get you guys presents" Peter blushed slightly as he spoke

Lily nodded and smiled "Thank you Peter"

Denisa beamed at him "You're such a nice guy Peter, why do you hang around with these gits?" Denisa asked pointing at the lip-locked James and Sirius who seemed to be in his own world

Peter shrugged "They're really good guys when you get to know them. They're brave a loyal and would do anything for me and Remus" Peter looked up in alarm

Professor McGonagall was storming towards the still snogging couple who didn't notice her until she coughed

James pulled away and looked up at his favourite Professor "Well hello, Minnie and good morning. I trust your breakfast was satisfactory?" James said looking absolutely innocent. McGonagall's lips were in a tight straight line, Sirius smiled at his best friend

"Mr. Potter do you not realise that you are in the Great Hall and in front of young children who shouldn't have to be exposed to your promiscuous activity?"

"Yes, Minnie I do know I am in the Great Hall, I have been coming here for six years you know, and I did not tell the children to look"

"Five points from Gryffindor, for calling me Minnie" Professor McGonagall said

"But that is your name, is it not?" James asked

Professor McGonagall looked outraged "You are a student, it does not matter if that is my name or not you have no right to address me with it"

Sirius smirked "I'm still allowed to call you Minnie, aren't I? I am your favourite student after all" Sirius asked

Professor McGonagall turned her attention away from James and focused on Sirius "No, you may not and you are not my favourite student"

James smiled "Exactly Sirius, you aren't her favourite student because I am"

Sirius stood up looking outraged "HOW DARE YOU" He shouted pointing his finger at James "You know Minnie loves me best. My love for her will never die! I am her favourite and you are just another student she teaches"

James stood up too while Professor McGonagall looked like she didn't know what was happening let alone how to stop it "Really!? Well where were you during the moonlight stroll I took with my dear Minnie!? Huh? Where were you when she was exclaiming from the Astronomy tower that her favouritism for me will never die?!" James shouted "Where were you?!"

"Where was I?!" Sirius replied in an even higher volume, by now the whole of the Great Hall were looking at them, "WHERE WAS I?!" Sirius repeated "I was doing my Transfiguration homework at O level like Minnie's favourite student should be doing! I was writing additional essays and doing extra research and studying as much as I could because that is what a favourite student of Minnie McGonagall should be doing! Instead of distracting her from her busy schedule and marking You could have thrown her whole time-table upside down with your petty moonlight walks! How would you feel knowing that Minnie was behind on all her grading! The poor fifth and seventh years wouldn't have any feedback on their essays and would therefore fail their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, how would your conscious feel knowing that was all your fault!" Sirius took a deep breath Denisa, Peter and Lily were laughing so hard their sides were about to split and Remus looked like he wanted to jump in

"Don't you give me that! Don't try to make me feel guilty! Minnie is a responsible, dignified lady! She would never come out on walks with me without making sure her schedule wouldn't collapse!" James matched Sirius' volume "You obviously don't know her like I do!"

Sirius and James started to shout at each other at the same time, you could only hear little snippets

"She deserves better than you", "You're mother would be so disappointed!", "It was your idea to set the nifflers free!", "How dare you compare me to Malfoy!", "No I don't think the Weird Witches are going to be a sensation one day, they sound like farts!", "Oh please! Don't give me that! I know you stole my lucky boxer! Don't you dare deny it! Wormtail told me!", "I know you know what happened to Reginald! I knew you were always jealous of him but to commit cold-hearted murder! My poor Reginald! He was just a baby turtle! How could you Sirius!?",

"Enough! Both of you shut up!" Remus shouted, he had just stood up "There is no point of arguing over my Minerva, the Minnie to my Mickey. I am her favourite and no one will ever take my place!" Sirius and James sneered at him before they both jumped onto Remus effectively knocking him to the ground, it was a fair fight Remus was extra strong from being a werewolf and Sirius and James had always been quite strong

Professor McGonagall seemed to have gained her composure as James stood on top of Remus and Sirius, a foot on each of their backs, she pushed him off of Sirius and Remus and they stood up "Detention, for all three of you"

"Yes Professor" They replied simultaneously with identical smiles

"Separately" Professor McGonagall added her mouth twitched as their expressions fell, Mr Lupin will be with me, Mr Black will be with Professor Slughorn and Mr Potter can go with Mr Filch. We have a lot of cleaning you can do" Professor McGonagall turned to Silvia who was still at the Gryffindor table "Miss Hornsby, 20 points from Hufflepuff for a very public displaying of affection, and this is not the first time I have caught you" She gave a stern look and Silvia quickly ran and joined her friends at the Hufflepuff table. The boys sat down in their original places.

Once Professor McGonagall left Denisa burst out laughing "That wa- was so fu- funny, Mc- McGonagalls fa- face wa- was priceless"

Lily too was laughing "And when Potter said they went on a moonlight stroll, sh- she lo- looked like she wa- wanted to ki- kill you!"

James huffed "Technically we did go on a stroll in the moon light, she caught me outside after curfew and walked me back"

Lily and Denisa started laughing harder, this time with Peter too

James couldn't help but think that Lily's laugh was one of the best sounds in the wall, it wasn't fake and exaggerated and wasn't all giggly and high-pitched it was just a laugh that cause his stomach to flutter. Little did he know his best friend, Sirius was having very similar thoughts but about the brunette laughing next to the red-head.

A group of girls sighed dreamily as Sirius shook some hair out of his eyes. He looked laid back and relaxed, like always it was just something he could do.

Denisa noticed the girls looking at him and nudged Sirius with her shoulder he looked at her questioningly

"Those girls are staring at you" Denisa said

Sirius shrugged and didn't turn around "Not my type"

"Not your type? You haven't even seen them, they are so pretty, and thin and have perfect noses and perfect lips and perfect eyes" Denisa sighed and returned to her food but felt warm air against her ear

"But they're all the same aren't they? I want someone who's different and not perfect" Sirius whispered and leaned back, Denisa blushed and felt a fluttering feeling in her stomach.

Lily stood up as Denisa finished eating "You ready to go Dee?"

Denisa nodded "Fine. Lets go" Denisa got up and they walked out of the Great Hall.

As they wandered through Hogsmeade they saw Tomes and Scrolls, the bookshop and quickly made their way in. Lily wandered around looking for the perfect book for Remus and found a book called 'the Wolf Within' a story about a Werewolf called Robert Langley who never let himself fall in love because he was scared of being rejected, soon he meets a girl called Nancy Thompson and falls deeply in love, and she loves him back. But he breaks up with her because he has a Wolf Within and that he's a monster. She however tells him to shut up and that she doesn't care that he's a Werewolf and that he isn't a monster but someone who transforms once a month. Lily called Denisa over and showed her the book and she burst out laughing and said 'you better give him that book just so I can see his face.'

Denisa found some books for Remuus and a book for Sirius

They then go to Honeydukes where they choose some more things for Peter, James, Alice, Frank, Mary and Sirius. Not to forget each other. After Honeydukes Denisa walked into Zonko's Joke Shop pulling Lily in with her, assuring her they would be quick. Lily and Denisa had decided to get the Marauders a massive box of prank equipment.

Lily went into Gladrags Wizardwear while Denisa went into Spintwitches, a shop that sells sporting goods.

By the time they got back to the castle they were both extremely exhausted. They quickly wrapped up the gifts and went to bed.

The Christmas holidays came quickly, Denisa and Lily were going to spend it at Denisa's Grandfathers farm as Lily's family was spending Christmas with the Dursleys. James, Sirius and Remus were spending the holidays while Peter's mother demanded he be home for Christmas.

Lily and Denisa walked through the wooden gate and stepped onto the farm. A three floor house, not including the attic and basement, was about two hundred metres away. It was pure white and had a dark brown door and five windows just at the front. Ivy surrounded the windows and door. On the left side of the farm was a large lake, nowhere near as big as the Black Lake but still big, frogs and lily pads were on the lake and deep with it were Grindylows. In the distance a bit behind the house was a small forest where the Unicorns lived. Lots of flowers and trees were spread throughout the farm and it was quite beautiful really. Meme jumped out of Lily's arms and went of onto the farm.

Lily and Denisa walked through the door and into the living room, it wasn't incredibly big and not very modern and tasteful yet it was warm and comforting. There was a cream coloured sofa adorned by big pillows of ranging colour and a blue blanket was spread over it, there was a two-seater couch that was also a cream colour and had a sleeping Snuffles on it, he was a black German Shepherd, and there were two brown armchairs. There was a big light brown coffee table in the middle of the couches and a fireplace was at the front of the room, it was made of stone and had dozens of photo frames on top of it. A Christmas tree was in the corner of the room, perfectly decorated and lots of presents were underneath it.

"Denisa!" Grandpa Wilson said from behind them, Denisa rushed up to hug him. He had grey hair and didn't seem that old. He had a friendly face and light brown eyes. When Denisa let go he rushed to embrace Lily to "How are you Lily?"

"Good, thank you Grandpa Wilson" Lily said returning the hug. She used to call him Mr Wilson but he told her to call him Grandpa Wilson

"Slinky has made hot chocolate, would you two like some?"

"Do you even have to ask Grandpa?" Denisa said and rushed into the kitchen along with Lily and Grandpa Wilson

Slinky was their house elf. She was technically a free elf, she was released after she accidentally spilt tea on her previous Master, and she was beaten quite heavily Grandma Wilson fixed her up and Slinky was offered 2 galleons a week to work for the Wilson family. She was always closest to Grandma Wilson and was most loyal to her and was devastated when Grandma Wilson passed away. Slinky had big eyes that were a rich purple colour, she wore a red and green dress and socks with snowmen on them.

"Hello Slinky" Denisa greeted the house elf with a hug

"Hello Ms. Denisa" Slinky replied "Hello Ms. Lily"

"Hello Slinky" Lily said accepting a hot chocolate

"Where's Danny?" Denisa asked

Slinky smiled "He has gone to see a muggle girl"

Denisa chocked on her hot chocolate "Wh-What?" Denisa spluttered

Lily smirked "You're brother has a better love life than you"

"Yes, and where is your boyfriend Lily?" Denisa asked feigning interest

"Okay, this conversation is not for me. I am going to bed, good night" Grandpa Wilson waved and left

"Actually Dee, I sort of have been seeing someone for a while" Lily said smiling slyly

Once again Denisa chocked on her drink "Are you serious?"

Lily snorted "Of course not. You know you would be the first to know" Denisa slapped Lily on the arm

"Slinky what muggle is this?" Denisa asked

"One from the town. He didn't really say much about her" Slinky replied

"Hmmm"

Denisa suddenly fell to the floor, a large black thing on top of her, it was Snuffles, was licking her face. "Snuffles, stop I don't know where your tongue has been" Denisa giggled as Snuffles immediately retreated and sat by her feet. When she stood up Snuffles leapt up and put his two forelegs onto her shoulders as if he was hugging her. Denisa put her arms around Snuffles and stroked his black fur "I wish I could bring you to Hogwarts" Denisa sighed, Snuffles barked as he saw Meme and ran off to play with her. Denisa washed the dog saliva off of her face and sat back down with Slinky and Denisa.

Lily, Slinky, Denisa spent the rest of the day talking by 10 they were knackered so Denisa and Lily made their way up to Denisa's room. Her room was a baby pink colour, it was a large room with two white double beds against the longest wall with a white bedside table on each side of the beds. On one of the two tables was a pale pink lamp and on the other were photographs and other small things. across from the bed was a long white wardrobe and next to that was a door to a bathroom. The floors had wooden floorboards and a white rug. There was a two large windows joined together on the wall next to Lily's bed with white curtains in front of them. Over the beds were photos of school and of Denisa and Lily, there were two Gryffindor banners and a drawing of a lion that Lily had drawn in third year. They added Lily's bed because she came around for a sleepover so often there was no point of not having it.

The days went by quickly, they helped around the farm. A few days ago they had to go into the small forest to get rid of all the hairs the unicorns got trapped in the branches and bushes. Three unicorns even came out and approached Lily and Denisa but they ran off immediately after Danny came by to call the girls in for dinner. Soon it was Christmas morning and a very excited Lily was jumping up and down on Denisa's bed

"Get up! Dee it's Christmas!" Lily shouted jumping up and down

"You are so lucky I'm only 16 because I would have hexed you so bad for waking me up" Denisa said as she rolled out of bed

"Denisa, Lily it's Christmas!" Danny shouted as he rushed into the room and also began jumping on the bed with Lily

"Oh Merlin. There's two of them" Denisa groaned and pushed Danny of the bed "Out, I'm changing"

"Okay, okay! Stop man handling me!" Danny said, pushing her hands away and exited the room

Denisa picked up the red Christmas jumper, that Slinky had knitted as Grandma Wilson used to, that had a gold snowflakes all around it, she also pulled on some black leggings and her fluffy socks. Lily also had a jumper except hers was green and had white snowflakes, she put on blue jeans and green socks.

Denisa decided not to tie her hair up, as it was Christmas, and it fell down to her waist, she took a red ribbon from the dresser and used the ribbon as a headband.

Lily too left her hair down and used a green ribbon as a headband.

They ran downstairs and into the living room where Grandpa Wilson, Slinky and an impatient Danny were waiting

"Finally, Grandpa wouldn't let me open any presents until you came so thanks for taking so long that Merlin came back!" Danny said as he took hold of his presents and looked at them full of adoration

"Weirdo" Denisa muttered and took hold of her presents too "Happy Christmas everyone"

"Happy Christmas" They all replied

Denisa took hold of her first present, it was wrapped in blue and silver so she knew it was from Danny, she opened it to find a box of strawberry smelling perfume and a gold bracelet that you added charms to, there was already a small gold unicorn charm. "Thanks Danny" Denisa smiled and put on the bracelet and sprayed some of the perfume on her.

The next present was wrapped in bright orange and it was from James, he had gotten her a big box of Bertie Botts and a book about DADA which had lots of spells for duelling. She smiled and put it down.

Lily's parents had gotten her a book on muggle animals and one full of muggle fairy tales, since she told them she had never read one.

The next present was a pale blue colour with snowflakes on it from Remus, he had gotten her a massive book about magical creatures and how to look after them, and a charm for her bracelet in the shape of a bean. Denisa shook her head and attached the charm to the bracelet. Danny must have told him about the charm bracelet.

She pulled the present which was from her Grandpa in front of her, it was a knee-length red dress. It neckline was modest yet not too modest. It started of tight at the top but when it reached the hips it loosened. Denisa smiled at her Grandpa and hugged him. He also got her a Wizard camera that could make moving pictures. Denisa beamed and showed Lily and Danny. Before snapping some pictures of Danny pulling funny faces and getting him to take one of Lily and Denisa. The next gift was a knitted multicoloured scarf from Slinky. Denisa beamed.

Her next gift was neatly wrapped in green from Lily, she had gotten Denisa a photo album. It was black, and leather. On the first page Lily had written a message.

_Dee,_

_Happy Christmas! _

_You really are the best friend any one could ask for._

_This album will hold memories of our friendship. From First year until we die. _

_I would die if I lost you, because a world without Denisa Wilson to __me is a _

_world __I don't want to live in._

_'The Greatest Gift of Life is Friendship, _

_and I Have Received it - Hubert H Humphrey'_

_Love Lily_

Denisa looked up at Lily with tears in her eyes and pulled her in for a hug. Lily smiled and hugged her back "I meant every word" She whispered

"I know" Denisa replied and pulled away "We'll look at it together later" Lily nodded

Denisa wiped her eyes and took hold another gift, it was sloppily wrapped in gold wrapping paper, from Sirius. It was a thin block of wood with an engraving

_September 1st 1976_

_The day Denisa Madeline Wilson_

_FINALLY got a _

_Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean_

_that tasted good._

_Colour - Sickly Brown_

_Flavour - Vanilla_

_'Vanilla, it's not disgusting, it's vanilla'_

All around the writing were small engraved beans. Denisa burst out laughing and showed Lily who shook her head.

Denisa's last gift was a massive assortment of Honeydukes most expensive chocolate from Alice, Frank and Mary. Peter had also given her a large box of Bertie Botts.

Lily took her first present, it was from Danny, wrapped the same way Denisa's was, he had gotten her a perfume that smelt of roses, her favourite flower. He had also got her a book on Time Travel something that she was very interested in.

Her next present was from Remus, he had gotten her some of Shakespeare's classics like, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Othello.

She then took Grandpa Wilson's and Slinky's gift, she too had gotten a dress. Hers was emerald-green. There was two layers, the first layer was a darker green and was strap less and the second layer was a lighter green and a pattern of lace flowers and the sleeves stopped at her elbow. Lily thanked Grandpa Wilson and Slinky.

Sirius got her an expensive Quill, a dark brown one with flecks of white, and two bottles of ink, one changed colour depending on your mood the other was the exact shade of her eyes.

Her parents got her a book on House Hold spells and the bought her some books, including, 'Jane Eyre' and

Her next present was wrapped to perfection in red with a gold bow on top from Denisa, Lily opened it and found a wooden box. It was big and could probably fit a lot of small items. The lid had roses and lilies engraved around the border while in the middle it said 'Lily' in cursive writing. In stead of a lock it had a small gold oval where the lock should be. Lily cast Denisa a questioning look, she only raised a finger. Lily nodded and put her pointer finger on the oval which opened immediately. Inside was dark red velvet with gold lilies and roses patterned onto it. Under the lid was a compartment where jewellery could be put it also had a lock with the gold oval. Above the gold oval was a gold slip where you could fit a photo in. The rest of the box was for storage.

"Thanks Dee" Lily said smiling "It's perfect"

Denisa frowned "Your gift was better"

"They are both equal" Lily smiled

Lily's next gift was from Mary, Alice and Frank, she too had gotten a massive assortment of Honeydukes most expensive chocolate.

Finally Lily took her last present which was from James, she opened the package to find a silver necklace. One silver lily was on each side of a silver rose which was in the middle. They were all small, very detailed and extremely beautiful. Lily immediately put it on. Denisa smiled at the necklace.

"Who got you that?" She asked, but already knew

"James" Lily answered

"James? Since when is it James?" Denisa asked, a goofy smile on her face

"Since now." Lily said smiling slightly as she looked at the necklace

"It's very pretty" Denisa said

"No, it's beautiful" Lily was still looking at the necklace

Denisa stood up, "Grandpa, can you charm the camera to take a picture?"

Slinky stood up "Ms Denisa, I can take the picture"

Denisa shook her head, "No I want you in the picture too, it's a family picture" Slinky's eyes filled with tears and she nodded

Grandpa Wilson waved his wand and announced they had ten seconds until the picture was taken.

Denisa, Lily and Slinky sat on the biggest cream couch, all three of them smiling up at the camera while Grandpa Wilson and Danny stood behind the couch and pulled funny face. When the picture came out you could see the two of them making the faces and Denisa, Lily and Slinky smiling beautifully until they noticed the old man and fifteen year old and burst out laughing.

* * *

James Sirius and Remus searched through every book they had for a smell blocking charm, but they couldn't find any. They would have gone to the library but as it was the holidays Sirius said they couldn't go because people would get the impression that the Marauders did school work during time off. So they settled on putting t-shirts over their noses. Their left hands grasped the t-shirt they held to their nose while their wands were in their right hands. They began walking towards Peter's bed slowly and prayed to Merlin that the t-shirts would block the smell. They finally reached the bed. Remus put his wand in his pocket and picked up the duvet and threw it behind him, effectively hitting Sirius and knocking him over with the duvet on top of him. The t-shirt had slipped from his hand and he was now exposed to the deadly smell that oozed from Peter's bed.

Sirius held him breath not wanting even his mouth to have to go through inhaling the odour.

James' eyes widened and he looked around for Sirius' t-shirt while Remus quickly said 'Scourgify' again and again at the bed, the smell cleared slightly but it was still definitely there. James gave up his search for the t-shirt and began helping Remus.

Sirius wheezed and his eyes filled with tears from the stench, there were new odours too one of fried onion and garlic and the other of crusty, never washed socks.

"Moony, Prongs. I love you guys. Tell- Tell Lily that my dying wish is for her to give Prongs a chance and tell Denisa that she shouldn't be so self-conscious, she's beautiful. Tell Wormtail that he's a stinky git and my death is on his hands and he shouldn't be surprised if I become a ghost and haunt him telling him to wash his socks and bed sheets." Sirius coughed again and cast sad looks at James and Remus who were still cleaning.

James turned around, rolled his eyes and pulled Sirius up by the arm then pushed him towards the area of the room that wasn't contaminated. Sirius seemed a bit put out but he obliged and went to get another t-shirt then returned again and pulled out his wand and muttered 'Scourgify' they carried on for about ten minutes but the smell had only just started to disappear.

Sirius stopped suddenly, pulled of all the sheets and pillow cases and ran to the bathroom when he promptly dropped them under the shower and turned on the water before adding shampoo and soap, really anything scented. He then went back and opened the window. Remus and James stared at him.

"Why didn't we think of that?" James asked staring at Sirius

"I dunno Prongs. Maybe we're dumber than Padfoot" Remus said sombrely

James sniffed then straightened up "No, Moony remember it was right after we got a full blast of the stench that we came up with the plan. Our brains were all contaminated. So we're not dumber than Padfoot!" James said happily Remus looked overjoyed

"Well thanks" Sirius said sarcastically "Next time I'll let you guys spend hours Scourgifying a bed and keep my brilliant ideas to myself"

Remus and James snickered but composed themselves and went and patted Sirius on the back

"You know we love you Padfoot" James said

"Yeah, you're very smart. We were just having a laugh" Remus said

Sirius huffed and sat on his bed looking sad

"Padfoot, let's go to the kitchens and get you your favourite, chocolate fudge cake" James said

Sirius didn't move

"Lets sneak of to Hogsmeade!" Remus tried

"Let's go explores the Forbidden Forest, I can carry Moony on my back" Remus shook his head quickly, his eyes wide. But James just gestured to Sirius

Sirius remained still

"Snivellus didn't go home for the holidays, lets prank him" Remus said desperately

Sirius looked up, a glint in his eye, "Snivellus" Sirius smirked.

By the end of the day Severus Snape now had red and green hair, yet the grease levels didn't differ at all, he was in a very small and tight elf costume, complete with ears and on the back of the costume it said 'To Students of Hogwarts, From The Marauders. Happy Christmas'

Everyday until Christmas was similar, they would play small pranks on Slytherins, sneak of to Hogsmeade and explore the castle for more secret passageways. Until Christmas day.

"Moony! Moony! Wake up! It's Christmas!" James shouted

"Christmas! Look at all these presents!" Sirius went to open one but James slapped his hand

"No, we have to wait for Moony" James scolded

Sirius went over to Remus' bed, leaned over to his ear and shouted "WAKE UP!"

Remus opened his eyes, pushed Sirius' face away and yawned "What time is it?"

Sirius checked his watch "00:06, we've been calling you for six minutes! I want my presents!" Remus got out of bed and they all sat in a circle, their presents in the middle.

Sirius took his first box which was from Remus, it was a book called 'How to Get the Witch You Want' Remus also got him a necklace with a tag that said 'Padfoot' and some dog biscuits. Sirius smiled at Remus

"It's charmed so when you transform it becomes a collar" Remus said "And as for the book, I thought it might help you with Dee"

"But I don't want De- Wilson"

Sirius took the next present which was from Lily, it was a collection of Disney movies, he had always said he wanted to watch them.

Next Sirius opened James' present which was flea shampoos and a giant stuffed dog that was about the size of Peter. Sirius held up the flea shampoos "Thank Merlin, the fleas are murderous"

James laughed "You know, I really think you should make the change permanent"

Remus smiled "Yeah, you'd also be good-looking for the first time in your life"

Sirius hit Remus with the dog causing him to tumble.

Sirius seemed satisfied and sat down bringing another present in front of him this one from Denisa, it was a book called '101 Great Hexes and Charms, Perfect for Pranking' it was massive and had pictures of what each spell did. She also bought him the newest addition of 'Qudditch Through the Ages' and gotten him a twenty galleon voucher for any shop in Hogsmeade.

The next one had green and silver wrapping and the Black Family Crest on it. Sirius eyed it wondering if it would curse him when he opened it. There was note on top - _'Sirius, I know we haven't talked in a long time and I know you hate me, but you're still my brother. Happy Christmas' _ inside was a picture of Sirius and Regulus, Sirius was about ten and Regulus was eight or nine. Regulus too had gray eyes and dark hair, though his hair was slightly shorter, he wasn't as handsome as Sirius but he was close, he had higher cheek bones and his face was slightly thinner he took after their mother, Walburga Black more while Sirius took after their father, Orion Black. Sirius and Regulus were dressed in matching dark gray robes with green embroidery and were both smiling and laughing at each other. Underneath the picture was a small sculpture of a pure white sheep. Sirius smiled, Regulus had constantly called him the 'white sheep' of the family, changing the words of the muggle saying.

Peter had sent a whole chocolate gateau cake that his mother made, Mrs Pettigrew made the best cakes, and an assortment of Honeydukes sweets

The rest of his last presents were from girls trying to win his affections with sweets and muggle body spray. One girl had gotten him a life-size photo of him.

James went next, he pulled his first present which was from Denisa, it was a broom servicing kit with double the usual supplies. She also cheekily gave him a picture of Lily from last year, she was sitting on a white bench in front of lots of flowers and was reading. You could see her eyes moving over the page and Lily was biting her lip slightly, something she always did when she read. James smiled and began putting the picture in his pocket, but Sirius noticing the movement quickly took the picture and held it up

"Well, well, well what is this. Oh my Merlin, it's a picture of Lily. Did De- Wilson get you this?" Sirius asked smiling cheerily and showing it to Remus who burst out laughing

"Yeah." James said and snatched the picture back from Sirius and put it in his pocket

"Fine, you can keep the picture. But don't let me catch you kissing it goodnight or sleeping with it because I will burn it if I have to" Sirius' smile grew wide as he watched James shift uncomfortably. "Come on you still have presents! Don't leave them waiting"

James, happy for the change of topic, nodded and took hold of another gift, this one was from the Qudditch team after winning the Quidditch cup last year, it was a framed picture of the whole team and a book of good Captaining Strategies.

James brought his next present in front of him which was from Sirius, it was a movie, Bambi and he also got. James stared at it, he didn't take Muggle Studies and was a pureblood so he had no idea what it was.

"Ergh, Padfoot what is this?" James asked

"It's a muggle mobie, it's like a moving picture but it has sounds and stuff" Sirius explained

"Padfoot, it's movie not mobie" Remus said

Sirius nodded

"And Padfoot you do know that is a children's movie, right?" Remus said

Sirius shrugged, "That would explain the bright colours. But it's a movie about a deer, so it's okay"

James sighed and picked another present, from Remus, it was a Deluxe pack of Dungbombs that had different smells but none of them stated what they smelt like. James smirked knowing the Slytherin Common Room was going to be a very good place to find out what each smell is.

"Thanks Moony" James grinned at him

"Just don't tell anyone who got them for you" Remus replied

His parents had gotten him some new, smart black dress robes and shoes.

The next present was from Peter, he had gotten James a book on Chasers and good moves that could help score.

His last present was from Lily who had got him a book on advanced Transfiguration, his best subject and a large box of many different sweets, such as Cockroach Clusters, Blood Lolly pops, Sugar Quills, Liquorice Wands, Chocolate Frogs and many others ranging from delicious to disgusting.

"Your turn Moony, let's see what you got" Sirius said

Remus' first gift was from Denisa, she got him 'A Christmas Carol', 'Great Expectations' and 'Oliver Twist' all written by Charles Dickens who Remus has said multiple times is one of the greatest writers to have walked the Earth. Remus smiled and began wondering which to read first.

His next gift was from Peter, it was a small box of muggle chocolates that he enjoyed but hardly got to eat seeing as he was at Hogwarts. They were all covered in fake silver wrapping, Remus stared at it for a while but shook his head, putting it down to coincidence

Sirius had gotten Remus a moon chart, which cause a lot of laughter from Sirius and James

"Padfoot, are you serious?" Remus asked, holding up the moon chart

Sirius' laughter stopped immediately as he looked Remus right in the eye and said "I'm always Sirius" He held the stare for several moments before choking on the laughter he was holding within. Sirius hand went behind his back and pulled out another present, which he threw at Remus "Only kidding, Moony. I'm Sirius by name but not by nature"

James had gone purple from laughing

Sirius' gift was actually two framed pictures one from second year, after they had found out about Remus, of the Marauders, Peter was on the left smiling up at the camera, Sirius was next to Peter and had his arm draped over his shoulder and over Remus' who was next to him and James also had his arm over Remus' shoulder, and another picture from fifth year after the O.W.L.s sitting in front of the Black Lake laughing and joking about, they hadn't even know someone was taking a picture and they looked so natural and happy, Sirius was lying on the grass his hands under his head gazing up at the clouds and laughing at something James said, James was sitting next to Sirius snickering and saying something, his hand occasionally running through his hair, Remus had a book in his lap but was paying no attention as he laughed along with the boys and Peter was clapping and gasping for breath as he laughed.

Remus smiled at the picture "Thanks Padfoot" Remus said to Sirius who shrugged casually and leaned back slightly

James' gift to Remus was a werewolf that was sculpted in chocolate it was half the size of Peter, Remus looked at him incredulously "What in Merlin's left foots largest toenail is wrong with you guys? What is with all this werewolf stuff?"

"That werewolf stuff is made out of Honeydukes' finest" James said

"No, no, no. Don't you dare play dumb with me James Charlus Potter! You know exactly what I mean, the fake silver wrapping on the chocolates from Peter, the moon chart and this bloody werewolf made of chocolate! I repeat, what is wrong with you guys?"

Sirius and James shrugged and then they bit into the werewolf, "C'mon Moony, it's delicious. Finally you will best the werewolf"

Remus had to admit the offer was inciting, the chocolate looked so good and it was Honeyduke's finest, it must have costed lots, before he knew what he was doing he started biting into the werewolf. In the middle of the half eaten werewolf was a Beatles album, Remus had said they were his favourite band and James had gotten his Mum to go and buy the record at a muggle shop and send it over by owl.

Remus looked at the album then at James who was looking quite smug "Thank you"

"S'alright Moony" James rolled his shoulders. "Next present"

Remus' parents had sent him a package with all his favourite food and treats.

His last present was from Lily, when he took off the wrapping he dropped the book in surprise, the dark blue cover was looking up at him, a white full moon was on top of the blue and the words 'Wolf Within' were written in white.

"Moony, what is it?" James asked

"She must know, but if she knows Denisa will too, oh Merlin. They probably hate me. All this time. Wolf Within." Remus was muttering

James looked concerned while Sirius picked up the book, he laughed James gave him a questioning look

"It's a romance" Sirius explained "About a werewolf and some girl who fall in love, blah blah blah, typical. Moony I don't think Evans knows. She would have said something"

James nodded "Yeah, Evans probably thought you'd like the book." James seemed a bit uncertain but carried on nodding.

"You're right of course you're right. It's nothing" Remus muttered

"There's one last present for The Marauders!" Sirius announced

A large present with red wrapping that had gold Ms all over it and a large gold bow on top, all three boys quickly began ripping it open. It was from Lily and Denisa. Inside were Dungbombs, Fake Wands, Hiccough Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, Whoopee Cushions that unleashed a smell then the cushion fades away as if it were never there, Spell Books full of Pranking Incantations, Mist Balls, Fake Fortune Cards, Crystal Balls which show the Grim and other omens, and many other pranking items.

"I may just love Lily more" James said as he looked into the box

"Prongs, you have to marry flower or I will kill you" Sirius said as he hugged everything close, he pulled up the Whoopee cushion, "Just imagine Slughorn's surprise when he sits on this. Oh Professor Antep is going to have a heart attack when she looks into those Crystal Balls and we can replace people s wands with fake ones, and oh Merlin I need to lie down" Sirius said as he walked over to his bed

"Happy Christmas guys" Sirius said before climbing into his bed

"Happy Christmas" Remus and James said as they both slipped into their own beds and closed their eyes, falling asleep.

* * *

**I wonder if anyone noticed the names I gave the characters of the Wolf Within. Nancy Thompson - N.T - Nymphadora Tonks Robert Langley - R.L - Remus Lupin.**

**Review**


	3. DebatesNicknamesFullMoonsPotions&APrank

**Debates, Ancestry, Nicknames, 'James', Full Moons, Potions and a Prank**

Lily and Denisa walked into their Defence Against the Dark Arts class and sat in their seats, Professor Stanley had made a seating chart Denisa sat with Remus while Lily sat with Snape. Sirius and James for some reason were sat together and Peter was with another Slytherin.

"Hey Remus" Denisa said, he looked ill and quite shabby and pale, the full moon was coming up in two days "You want some chocolate?" Denisa offered knowing it would help

Remus smiled "Thanks Dee"

When everyone took their seats Professor Stanley came to stand at the front of the room

"I have decided we are going to have a debate today" He announced "We are going to argue whether or not Werewolves should be allowed to live among Witches and Wizards"

"Of course they shouldn't, werewolves are dangerous and should be killed once bitten. It would make life so much easier" Mulciber said

"Maybe someone should have killed you once you were born, it would have made life _so _much easier" Denisa sneered, Sirius chocked a laugh

Sirius burst out laughing while James held his hand over his mouth

"Lycanthropy sufferers are only dangerous during the full moon" Lily said

"No, they are always blood-sucking monsters and should be taken care of!" Avery shouted

Denisa smirked "Vampires are the ones that suck-blood Avery, or have you forgotten everything that we learnt in third year?" Sirius and James smirked

"Lets not get off topic" Professor Stanley said giving James and Sirius looks as they laughed

"People who suffer from Lycanthropy are perfectly normal like you and I on days that don't have a full moon. They should have rights like all the rest of us and should be treated the same! It's like with Muggle borns. People are prejudiced and scared of accepting something that is out of their beliefs. They can't accept that Muggle borns have magic and people with Lycanthropy have to transform once a month. It's not as if they want to have to go through a painful transformation each month, they didn't choose to suffer" Lily said

"What about Fenrir Grayback, he's dangerous! He bites little kids!" Snape said "Werewolves are dangerous and shouldn't be allowed in our society" He cast an angry glance at Remus who had one hand clutching the side of his desk

"Yes, Grayback is a monster, but you can't say all people with Lycanthropy are the same just because of one bad werewolf!" Sirius said

"It's like saying all Purebloods are blood supremacists because of one that you've met" James added

Mulciber sneered "They are a burden on our society, there is no good werewolf! They are all monsters who want to bite you! A werewolf will bite his Mother and Father if he comes across them during a full moon! They aren't sane like us!"

Lily stood up "Oh, I'd hardly call you sane Mulciber. Have you ever actually met a werewolf or are you just going on what Mummy and Daddy told you" Lily said, her voice cold "They have to endure a painful transformation every month until they die and then they have to listen to hate from ignorant, small-minded people like you!"

Professor Stanley discreetly pulled out his wand, ready to cast a shield charm for when anyone attacks.

Avery too stood up "Werewolves are disgusting creatures!" He shouted "They are weak and should be disposed of because they are dirtying up our world"

James stood up "Well, obviously you haven't looked in the mirror because then you would have realised that you are a disgusting creature and frankly I feel terrible that Lycanthropy sufferers have to go through all that pain and you none at all!"

Sirius joined James "You know, I've read that the pain Lycanthropes have to go through is about two times the pain the Cruciatus Curse causes. How can you call them weak?" Sirius looked Avery up and down "I doubt you would be able to go through a transformation. Grayback is biting children as young as four, probably younger, and you have the nerve to call them weak! Imagine being four years old, having to be taken away by your Mother and Father to transform, having no idea what is going on and then having to endure such pain! They are then made outcasts by closed-minded people. How is that fair?"

Denisa took hold of Remus' hand, she had tears in her eyes and so did Lily

"That is why Werewolves need to be disposed of. They are dangerous!" Snape said rising from his seat next to Lily who sneered

"You're twisting his words! He's making a point about how it's bad enough that they have to go through extreme physical pain but then have to go through the emotional pain of being cast away, of being called a monster! No person should have to go through that!" Denisa shouted standing up, tears steaming down her face now, she was still holding Remus' hand

Lily too was crying "Anyone who can call them their fellow people 'monsters' are the real ones" She gave Snape a dirty look "Grayback is a monster, but not because he is a werewolf, but because of the way he chooses to use it. This is what people have done to him! They have called him a monster too many times! So he has obviously decided 'If they think I'm a monster, why not act like one?' People have done this to him!"

No one spoke and when the bell rang they all left silently. Mulciber and Avery pushed past Denisa and Lily while Snape cast a dirty look at Remus

Once outside the door Denisa let go of Remus' hand and pulled him in a tight hug, Lily joined in too "I'm sorry you have to go through all that" Lily whispered

"You're a good person Remus, and no affliction will ever change the way we see you" Denisa whispered

"You know?" Remus asked, his voice almost inaudible

"Yes" The girls answered as they pulled away

James, Sirius and Peter were stood behind Remus

"Ho- How long?" Remus asked

"Third year" Lily answered "Remus, believe me we tried so hard to throw Snape of the scent"

Denisa nodded

"But... But you're still friends with me. Why?" Remus said looking both of them in the eye

"Because Remus, you're an amazing guy. We don't care that you have Lycanthropy" Denisa said

"You have always been a good person. Why should we stop talking to you because of this little thing?"

"You two are amazing" Remus said

"We know" Lily said

"So... You've known since third year?" James asked

Denisa and Lily nodded

"I've got a question. How long has Snape known?" Denisa asked

"Fifth year" Remus said

"How did he find out?" Lily asked

Sirius looked pained "He was following us around" Denisa cast a look at Lily "I was getting sick of it. I had seen him with my brother earlier that day, talking about Voldemort" He looked at them to see if they flinched, neither did "I was so angry, as he was following me and Remus on the way to Charms I held back telling Remus I forgot something. I cornered Snape and told him to go out to the Whomping Willow and touch the knot on the tree and go down the tunnel, where Remus was. I honestly thought he wouldn't do it. He had his suspicions about Remus being a werewolf, but I guess he wanted visual proof. I told James about it and he went down to get Snape out before he saw Remus and got himself killed. It was too late though, he saw Remus transform. James grabbed him and got out before either of them were killed" Sirius looked at his feet "I really am sorry Moony"

Remus shook his head "It's okay. He can't tell anyone since he promised Dumbledore"

Sirius sighed and sat down on the floor and put his head in his hands "I was an idiot"

James nodded "Yeah but nothing happened to Snivellus so it's okay"

Sirius looked up "You think I give a shit about _Snivellus_?" He shook his head angrily "No, I wouldn't care if he got killed. I feel bad that I betrayed Moony, that Moony would have been the one to kill Snivellus. I'm angry about nearly exposing Moony's secret"

Lily frowned "Why don't you care if Snape got killed?" She sounded slightly annoyed and surprised

Sirius looked at her "He's trying to get my brother in with the Death Eaters. Reg is fourteen!"

Denisa smiled slightly "I get where you're coming from. I would have tried to kill Snape too if he was trying to get my brother to join the Death Eaters. It's despicable, they're still in school! Regulus probably doesn't want to but feels obligated, pressured to try to make his parents proud, I assume that's what they said to get him to join, that since you've left he's the heir and has to represent the Black family"

Sirius nodded "My darling Mother always said I should follow in dear Bella's footsteps. She said Voldemort will reinstate the purity of the wizarding world"

Lily smiled a little and said "No offence, but she sounds terrible"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter but it was humourless and cold "Terrible is an understatement, no words can describe Walburga Black. But whatever I'm free of her clutches now that I'm disowned"

Lily smiled hesitantly. "We should go to Lunch"

Sirius stood up gracefully and they all walked to the Great Hall. But as they were going to walk in Lily held James back

James smiled at her as she fidgeted nervously

"I just want to say that it was very brave of you to go save Snape, even though you could have gotten bitten or killed." Lily said while James beamed proudly "And I also want to thank you for the necklace" Lily pulled it out from under her shirt "It's beautiful"

"Yeah, Wilson told me roses are your favourite flowers and lilies are your second favourite" James grinned "I'm glad you liked it"

Lily saw the sincerity in his eyes, he has nice eyes she thought. They had flecks of gold and green in them, she always thought they were just brown but really they were a hazel colour. "Let's go eat" She said snapping herself out of her thoughts

"Okay, Sirius" He said jokingly but Lily's glare shut him up

As they sat down Professor Stanley came up to them

"James, Sirius, Denisa and Lily 25 points, each, for the debate earlier" He smiled at them "And another ten for Remus for having to endure those comments"

Remus looked up "You know, sir?" He said and his eyes were slightly wide with fear

Professor Stanley nodded, "Of course, all the Professors know. But I don't really care, Lycanthropy is a terrible thing to go through"

Remus nodded. Sirius decided to speak "How many points did the Slytherins get?"

"10 each for Mr. Mulciber, Mr Avery and Mr. Snape, but I also took twenty points from Slytherin because Mulciber was talking about Miss Evans and using some disgusting words"

James stood up but Remus pulled him down.

"Denisa, Remus. Professor Dumbledore has told me that the both of you score the highest out of the year during O.W.L.s for Defence Against the Dark Arts"

They both nodded quite shyly

"And you both got exactly the same scores, quite remarkable. Well, I am going to do a lesson on duelling and I was wondering if you two would have a duel in front of the class"

Denisa and Remus looked at each other before nodding "Excellent" Professor Stanley said and stood up then left

"Wow. You guys are going to duel. That is going to be so good to watch. Denisa can do non-verbal spells and send spells off really quickly and Remus knows so many good spells and is good at moving around and making the opponent miss" James said "This is going to be so good!"

Peter was clapping his hands with excitement and Lily and Sirius were nodding

Denisa groaned "Why didn't he just pick out four Slytherin's and make us two got against them. I would really like to hex that Avery"

Sirius smiled "I would watch that. And who says you can't hex Avery"

Denisa shrugged "I can't be bothered to do a detention. Filch stinks and I hate cleaning"

The Marauders shuddered, "You should smell his office" James said

Lily nodded "It smells like dragons dung mixed with sweat"

The boys turned to stare at her "How do you know what Filch's office smells like?" James demanded

"He stuck me in there after he caught me out of hours" Lily shrugged

Sirius looked befuddled "You go out after hours?"

Lily again shrugged "I got hungry so I went to the kitchens" Lily said as though it didn't matter

Sirius gasped "You know where the kitchens are? How?"

"Dee and I saw you guys go in there once" Lily said casually

Denisa looked up and nodded, since her mouth was full of food, she swallowed "The house elves are so nice, they remind me of Slinky"

Lily nodded "Slinky is lovely" She said

Sirius again looked lost "Slinky?"

"Denisa's house elf" Lily answered and returned to her food

"House elf? You have a house elf? I didn't know you were a pureblood" Sirius said trying to recall the Wilson family tree in the Genealogy book his mother had

"One Slinky isn't mine. She just works for us." Denisa said to Lily before turning to Sirius "Well the Wilson's are Purebloods, but they're big blood traitors so other Pureblood families don't really see them as Purebloods" Denisa explained "I don't know if I'm a Pureblood since my Grandpa doesn't know who my Father is and my Mother left when I was a baby" She told Sirius "My Grandpa is very close to the Weasleys. Molly and Arthur just had a little boy Percy Weasley, their third boy" Denisa informed Lily

"Oh that's lovely, little Bill and Charlie are so adorable" Lily gushed "I just hope my son will someday be as lovely as them"

"Just imagine it a little boy with your green eyes and Potter's messy black hair!" Denisa said with a small clap of her hands

Lily hit her on the arm "I am never going to marry Potter," She spat out venomously

Denisa rubbed her injured arm and smirked "Who said you had to marry him? OW! Lily stop hitting me! This is going to bruise"

"Do you think Molly and Arthur are ever going to get a daughter?"

"Well, one can only hope. You know Weasley's hardly ever get daughters"

"I like the Weasley's. But that might just be because my family hate them" Sirius said with a large grin

"Aren't you related to Arthur?" Denisa asked

Sirius nodded "I think he is my second cousin once removed, or something and I'm related to Molly through marriage. I'm related to a lot of Wizarding Pureblood families basically, the Prewetts, Flints, Malfoys, Averys, Crabbes, McMillans, Lestranges, Crouch's, Yaxleys, Bulstrodes, Longbottoms, Potters. Most of them by marriage though"

Denisa smiled "Probably not mine"

"I could be, the Noble and Most Ancient Black family can date back to the founder's time" Sirius smiled

"Can you name everyone?" Lily asked

Sirius scoffed "No one but my mother can"

James smiled "Your mother is a hag"

Remus and Peter nodded while Sirius flung his head back and let out a loud bark-like laugh

"You have no idea. She almost blew up when I told her I asked the hat to put me in any other house but Slytherin. The vein in her forehead was actually moving and then she let out a blood curdling scream. It was so funny. I had to 'Obliviate' her so she would leave me alone"

"You can't use magic at home" Lily said

"One, I'd hardly call Number 12 Grimmauld Place my home and Two, there are so many magic wards, protective ones, muggle preventing ones and there is so much magic in there that it sort of overlaps so the Ministry would never find out if me or Reg did magic. There was too much magic. Also every ancestor of mine who has lived there has left their magic mark"

"Lot's of old magic families houses are like that, I mean how many generations lived in that house?" James said

Sirius thought for a bit "Well, it was made in 1536, a few hundred generations. Most Blacks marry early to have kids quickly and keep the name alive"

Lily nodded "It's quite fascinating. But aren't they afraid of inbreeding, if lot's of pureblood families mix"

Sirius mumbled something while the other three Marauders laughed lightly

"What did you say?" Lily asked

James smiled "Sirius Black is a bit inbred"

Lily blanched slightly "How?"

Sirius smiled grimly "My parents are second cousins"

"What, so your father is also your second cousin, once removed, the same applies to your mother?"

Sirius shrugged "Basically" Sirius began shoving food in his mouth so he didn't have to talk anymore

Denisa stood up "Time for transfiguration" She announced

Professor McGonagall watched them all sit down, The Marauders sat at the back while Lily and Denisa sat near the front

"Today class you will be learning how to do the Bird-Conjuring Charm, the incantation is _'Avis' _Now most of you will not be able to do this spell right away so we will be doing this for three lessons. If you succeed verbally, try doing it non-verbally" Professor McGonagall said "Begin"

Lily and Denisa each picked up their wands and did the hand movement while saying 'Avis' clearly, nothing happened

"Wonderful Mr Potter! And non-verbally too, on your first try! 20 points to Gryffindor!" Professor McGonagall showed a rare smile, James and the rest of the Marauders had always been some of her favourite students

Sirius smirked at James who had gone slightly pink.

Denisa and Lily tried again and again but to no avail. James had green birds flying over his head, Sirius had red birds with some gold feathers and Remus had pale blue birds. Peter had light yellow birds. They were making the birds fight each other.

Lily sighed, muttering about the show off's

Denisa smiled and tried again this time a small pink bird emerged from her wand. Lily stood up and waved her wand while saying 'Avis' but again nothing came out

"You're trying to hard" Someone breathed next to her ear, she turned to find James Potter smiling at her, not smirking, smiling.

Lily huffed "Not everyone can be perfect at Transfiguration like you"

James shook his head and ran his hand through his hair "Evans," He came and stood behind her taking her hand that was clutching her wand in his "Relax, your hand movements are to strained and tough. Glide your hand, don't pull, glide. Picture the birds in your head and then say the incantation"

Lily took a deep breath and glided her hand along with James' and said clearly 'Avis' purple birds few out of her wand. Lily's head followed their movements with a large smile before turning to James "Thank you!"

James smiled back "No problem" He waved at her and went back to a grinning Sirius and an amused Remus

"James Potter confuses me" Lily announced as she sat next to Denisa on her bed

Denisa looked up from her Defence book she got from James. She moved her hair out of her face, she had let it down once she changed into her grey sweat pants and white tank top "He's a confusing person" Denisa shrugged, Lily had changed into her red plaid pyjama pants and green tank top

Lily sighed and laid her head on Denisa's shoulder "He... He has changed. He's nicer now and it's confusing me"

Denisa leaned her head on top of Lily's "You always thought he was going to be an arrogant, toe-rag so it's confusing to see him being normal and having a real conversation with you. We have spent a lot of time with the Marauders"

"I'll say" A voice sneered from the doorway, Lana Blackthorn was standing there, her arms crossed. She had bleach blonde hair that went down to half-way down her back and cold blue eyes "I've seen the way you're all over Sirius, Wilson. It's sickening"

Denisa raised her eye brows with a slightly amused expression

"Yeah, it's despicable" Sandra Fabray said nodding, she had dark brown hair that was a bit shorter than Lana's and light brown eyes "And you Evan's all over my James. You should be ashamed of yourself" These two were a duo of hate. They were major school gossips and flirts and for some odd reason hated Lily and Denisa with a great passion, that is not to say it wasn't the other way round too "You two are never going to get them, they are too good for you"

"Hm... that is very funny as I swear that James has been chasing Lily since fourth year" Denisa said and stood up, pulling Lily with her and going downstairs into the common room leaving the two girls alone

"I bet they're going to go through our stuff" Lily sighed as she sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace

Denisa smirked at her "I put silent anti intruder charms on our trunks before leaving, if they try to get in they will have Thief written in red over their foreheads for the weekend, unless they're smart enough to find the counter charms"

Lily giggled. Denisa began playing with her hair while Lily made little multicoloured smoke rings come out of her wand.

The Portrait Hole opened and the Marauders came tumbling in, laughing at something Remus said

"Lily Flower!" Sirius shouted and ran to hug her

"Ar- are you drunk?" Lily asked incredulously

Sirius scoffed as he put his head in her lap and legs on the arm of the couch "Just a wee bit tipsy, Lily Flower"

James, Remus and Peter walked up to them, Peter was swaying slightly and stumbled over his own two feet. James pulled Sirius up before taking his place, though he sat and didn't lie down

"HEXY!" Sirius shouted and pulled Denisa into a hug

"Hexy?" She asked. Remus shook his head at Sirius

"Hexy. Because your good at hexes and your sexy!" Sirius announced with a slur

Denisa raised her eyebrows but said nothing and sat down, putting the nickname down to the amount of alcohol he consumed

"Can't you call me something else? Like Wilson or my name" Denisa asked

Sirius tutted "But you need a nickname. We all got nicknames once we found out about Moony" Sirius whispered the last part

Denisa sighed in defeat "Fine. But not Hexy"

Sirius pondered for a few moments "Beanie!" He exclaimed decisively "Because you like Bertie Botts"

James and Remus smirked while Peter and Lily giggled

"Beanie? Merlin. That's terrible" Denisa said in disgust

"I like it!" Lily announced

"Me too" James smirked

Remus laughed slightly "Me three"

Peter deciding to join in said "Me four, Beanie"

Denisa groaned and covered her red face with her hair

Sirius noticed that her hair was down "Your hair is down! I thought you had a permanent sticking charm on that hair band!"

Denisa looked at him and the others smirking faces before tutting and standing up "Goodnight, hope you all die in your sleep" She said and began walking up the stairs but felt something wrap around her knees and waist. James and Sirius were carrying her back to the group, they plopped her down unceremoniously on the couch next to Lily and they all smiled innocently at her "I won't forget this" Denisa said

"Okay Nisa **(Pronounced Knee-sa)**" Sirius said

Denisa smiled at him "Whatever" She said dismissively

"I thought you guys had gone to bed" Remus said

Lily suddenly looked angry "Those stupid bimbos we have dorm mates were being their usual bitchy selves" Lily said venomously

James frowned "What did they do?"

Denisa put her head in her hands while Lily answered "They were saying that we were being pathetic, chasing after you guys"

Sirius and Remus exchanged looks

"Where have they been for the past six years when Lily Flower absolutely hated Prongs and Moony was the only one you two actually got along with?" Peter asked

"Don't know. Merlin I hate them!" Lily said

Peter frowned "Just ignore them, they're just jealous because Padfoot and Prongs will never give them the time of day" Peter said

Denisa nodded "You're right Pete, you are so right!" Denisa stood up and hugged him tightly "You smart little man" She kissed Remus on the cheek and said goodnight to the others before going upstairs

Lily got up and did the same thing and ran upstairs after Denisa

Sirius and James frowned "How come we didn't get a hug or kiss?" James asked Sirius

Sirius thought for a moment before answering "They were scared that if they came to close they would fall madly in love and snog us on the spot"

James pondered this before nodding "Lets go with that"

"Or maybe they just didn't want to touch either of you" Peter suggested with Remus nodding in agreement

"Wormtail! How could you say that! You know Lily Evans loves me!" James scolded in mock anger

Peter smiled "I'm sorry Prongs, I don't lie"

James huffed while Sirius looked thoughtful "Why didn't Lily Flower and Nisa hug me?"

Peter shook his head "Same reason"

Remus stood up and stretched his arms over his head with a yawn "Night, I'm turning in"

Sirius, James and Peter stood up "We're coming too, need to get all the rest we can. Full moon on Sunday. Then we have the Ravenclaw Riddle prank on Tuesday and I've got a date with a hot Hufflepuff on Wednesday, then on Thursday we have the big prank on Minnie and on Friday is the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff game" Sirius said

Remus frowned but said nothing.

Sunday came to quickly in Remus' opinion, he felt like absolute shit. He was tired and moody. All he wanted was to punch anyone who talked above a whisper, and being best friends with the Marauders who are probably the loudest people in the school didn't help.

Remus leaned his head back on the tree as he watched the Giant Squid swish about in the lake. Sirius was leaning his back on the tree and casually eating an apple, he looked laid-back and happy. James was lying in the fresh green grass with his eyes closed and hands behind his head. Peter was dozing off next to James.

Remus sighed, he was dreading tonight's transformation but was also wishing he could get it over and done with already.

"Hey, Remus. How are you feeling?" Lily asked

Denisa scoffed "That's a stupid question. He obviously feels like shit"

Remus nodded morosely "Basically"

Denisa plopped down in the middle of Sirius and Remus "You want some chocolate?" Denisa asked him. Remus nodded and she gave him a slab of chocolate before turning to Sirius "What about you Sirius?"

Sirius smiled at her and nodded, she also gave him a slab and Lily one too before pulling out a box of Bertie Botts and choosing a purple bean and putting it in her mouth

"Candy floss" She announced, she pulled a dingy grey bean and plopped in into her mouth "Chocolate Chip cookie" She pulled out a handful of beans, before giving Sirius a sky blue one "I dare you"

Sirius smirked before putting it into his mouth, he went sightly red as he began coughing and spluttering "Pep- Pepper" He wheezed

Denisa burst out laughing at his face.

Lily shook her head "You should be careful with those" She scolded

Sirius sighed "It's part of the fun. Not knowing what flavour you're going to get. It's like a game" Denisa nodded

"It's not a very good one though" Lily said

Sirius shrugged.

"So, Remus have you been practising your hexes?" Denisa asked, a mocking smile gracing her lips

Remus smiled, although it was more of a grimace "Yeah, I'm going to wipe the floor with you"

James sat up "Lily Flower! Beanie! What are you guys doing here?"

Lily rolled her eyes "What does it look like James?"

Sirius, Denisa and Remus gasped while Peter let out a snore and James' face pulled up into a large smile. Lily frowned "What?"

"You called him James!" Denisa, Remus and Sirius shouted at the same time but it came out "YacallimJaes!"

"Pardon?" Lily's frowned deepened

James smiled smugly "You called me James"

"Is that not your name? Or would you prefer for me to call you Potter? I don't mind either way is fine with me"

James shook his head quickly "James is good" Lily hid her smile

Denisa was holding her chest "A-Am I dead? Re-Remus, Sirius I- I- I think I'm dead"

"I don't know Beanie. A- Are we dead?" Remus said dramatically checking his neck for a pulse

Sirius pretended to cry on Denisa's shoulder "We-we were to young!" Denisa joined in with the fake crying

"So very young" Remus pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed his eyes

"I- I never got to see Lily marry James" Denisa wept "She would have looked ama- amazing in her wedding dress and James wo- would have looked dashing in his robes"

"An- and I never got to be a Godfather to little Sirius Potter" Sirius said and began making very over dramatic weeping noises

"I would have been Godfather to their daughter, since I understand girls better than Sirius" Remus added

"And I never got to be the Godmother!" Denisa wiped her eyes exaggeratedly

"Excuse me, but why are you dead?" Lily asked with an amused smile on her face

Sirius and Denisa looked up at the same time "Because you would never have called James by his first name if we were alive" Lily stared at them before bursting out laughing. They spent the rest of the day outside in front of the lake.

The boys were preparing for the full moon when Peter brought up a topic that neither of them had thought about

"The girls know about Remus being a Lycanthrope, are we going to tell them about us being Animagi?"

"I don't know. Maybe in seventh year" Remus said in a slightly strained voice

James, Sirius and Peter nodded, it was ultimately Remus' choice and the less people who knew the less likely the secret would get out. James tucked his invisibility cloak into his pocket while Sirius took the blank parchment that was really the Marauders Map

"C'mon, we better walk you to Madame Pomfrey, she'll be waiting near the Willow" Peter said

The walk to the Whomping Willow was silent, as always. In less than half an hour Remus was going to transform. It was hard to think about, neither wanted to know how it felt.

Madame Pomfrey was waiting a few metres away from the Willow, she looked strained and her eyes were slightly red and puffy

"How are you Remus?" She asked concerned, she hated that such a young boy had to go through this

He sighed heavily "I feel terrible Poppy" Remus said honestly

She cast him a sad look before turning to the others, "You all should go back inside"

They all nodded and walked back into the hall before Peter transformed, James picked him up and threw the Cloak over the three of them. About five minutes late Madame Pomfrey walked past them quickly, tears were trailing down her face

They all walked back out to the Whomping Willow, James took off the Cloak before stowing it in his pocket and let Peter go on the ground, Peter scurried through the grass and touched the knot at the base of the tree with his small paw. The Willow froze, Sirius and James ran and went through the passageway at the bottom of the tree.

They moved through the dusty halls of the Shrieking Shack until they came upon the old and ragged staircase, it was full of dust but had paw prints imprinted everywhere, as did the rest of the house. They made their way up the stairs and into the room at the end of the corridor and on the left, the room where Remus always transformed. Remus was sat on the king size bed, which had grey, moth-eaten sheets. The room had green wallpaper that was peeling away and the windows were boarded up with ripped curtains covering them. On the left side was a wardrobe that was missing a door while on the right there were two brown armchairs that had many rips from the times before Sirius, James and Peter became Animagi. There was a small broken table in between the chairs which was pretty much destroyed. Small spatters of blood were all over the place.

James shuddered, he hated this room. He hated everything it represented. This room was where his best friend had to transform, this room was where his best friend used to injure himself in his wolf form. This room was nearly destroyed by a lonely wolf's anguish and anger.

Remus let out a pain filled groan, white late streamed in thin line from the boarded up windows. Remus stood up, he let out a small scream of pain as his shoulders hunched over and his hands and feet became paws, he grew in length and his face grew a short snout and his whole body became covered in brown fur. His eyes were still human-like and his teeth became pointed and sharp. His nails became yellow and grew into claws. A long .

Sirius immediately transformed into a large black dog which still had his stormy silver/grey eyes, a collar was wrapped around his neck which said 'Padfoot' while James transformed into a dark brown stag with his same warm hazel eyes with flecks of gold and green. Long antlers pulled Peter up onto his head.

Prongs looked over at Moony who had began playing with Padfoot, obviously recognising his friend. They were both doing some form of canine wrestling. They always began like this. Padfoot would tire Moony out so he would be easy to manage as they walked around Hogsmeade and explored the Forbidden Forest.

Moony started biting softly on Padfoot's ear before letting out a loud howl. He ran over to Prongs and looked at him in the eye's. Moony seemed to have recognised Prongs as he began playing with him too, Wormtail shifter backwards slightly.

When Moony started panting Padfoot and Prongs started leading him out and into the Forbidden Forest. Moony began chasing a little grey rabbit that had just emerged while Padfoot and Prongs sat down.

The rest of the night went fairly quickly as they play fought with Moony and chased rabbits.

Lily looked up at the doors to the Great Hall for the hundredth tie waiting anxiously for Remus to arrive. Lily and Denisa had been up worried for most of the night.

"Lils, I don't think he and the Marauders will come. Remus is probably sleeping. James, Sirius and Peter too, they were probably up all night waiting for him"

Lily sighed and nodded before turning to her scrambled eggs.

Lily and Denisa sat down at the front of the class in potions. Slughorn and the rest of the students still hadn't arrived but Lily and Denisa always got there first. As they were whispering about Remus, Severus Snape walked into the classroom he immediately paused when he noticed them and ignored Denisa completely as his eyes shifted over Lily an almost greedy like look on his face.

Denisa and Lily stopped talking and looked up, Denisa glared at Snape, while Lily looked at him with sad eyes and turned back around

Severus looked hurt at this obvious rejection "Lily I-" He started

"Oh, so it's Lily huh? Whatever happened to the M word you loved to throw around?" Denisa asked, casually but there was a hardness to her voice and her eyes were cold as they watched him

Severus turned to look at her "Do you mind, I'm trying to talk to Lily" He said in an annoyed voice

Denisa looked at Lily questionably and Lily nodded, Denisa squeezed her hand reassuringly and turned towards Severus "If you do anything to hurt her, or cause her any more sadness I will not hesitate to hex you" Denisa said warningly and her eyes watched Lily for a second and then she left the room.

Severus turned around and muttered 'Muffliato' at the door before he hesitantly made his way to stand in front of Lily who was watching him "I- I am so s-sorry" He cried "I never meant to say that word. I was angry and Potter and took it out on you"

Lily stared at him, he was once her best friend, he had told her all about the magical world, they had spent hours upon hours together talking, she would cry on his shoulder and tell him everything. But he had changed. He was different. After second year he became colder, obsessed with the Dark Arts and his Slytherin friends didn't help, encouraging him, sneering at Lily in the corridors. They had fought more, she had seen the end of their friendship coming, she knew inside that one day he would direct the word she never wanted to hear from him, 'Mudblood', although she expected it it still felt like she was being stabbed in the heart. She hated that he had changed, what had happened to her Sev? Where was Sev? Where was her best friend? Outside the door, listening for when Snape hurt her, that's where. Denisa and Lily had never had an argument. They were together 24/7 yet they neer got sick of each others company. With Denisa she could laugh and joke around; nothing was ever strained. Not like with Severus, they had argued constantly in fourth and fifth year and Lily had always sought the comfort of Denisa who had held her as she cried even though Lily knew that Denisa thought that Lily shouldn't even give Snape the time of day, that he would always hurt her; Denisa never made it seem like it was her fault, she just listened.

"I forgive you Severus" Lily muttered sadly and Severus looked ecstatic

"Thank you, thank you! Lily thank you! I promise I'll never argue with you again" Severus smiled as he said this "I will not let you regret this"

Lily however still looked sad "Severus, I forgive you. But I can not forget what you said, what you did. I can't be friends with you" A stray tear rolled down Lily's cheek

Snape frowned and pulled a chair so he could sit in front of her. "Lily. Lily p-please. I- I need you!" He took her hands and Lily's bit her teeth together "I need to be your friend!" Severus' eyes filled with tears as he looked into her dazzlingly green eyes

Lily shook her head "I- I am sorry Severus. Denisa was right, we argue to much. We cause each other too much pain" Lily rubbed away her tears as she said this

Severus stood up furiously "So it's_ her _fault!" He said bitterly "She's the reason you won't be friends with me again!" Severus snapped

"It is not her fault" Lily sighed "And others agree with her, Peter, Sirius, Remus and James have said the same thing a-"

"'JAMES!?' 'SIRIUS?!' SINCE WHEN DO YOU CALL POTTER AND BLACK BY THEIR FIRST NAMES! YOU DON'T SEE HOW THEY ARE MANIPULATING YOU! PUTTING YOU AGAINST ME!"

Lily's eyes flashed "I would think you know that I can make my own decisions!" Lily snapped "I do not need to be told what to do by you, Denisa or the Marauders! I am sixteen! Not three! Stop treating me like some child who can't tell left from right! I am an independent woman and don't need to be watched!"

"OBVIOUSLY YOU DO NEED TO BE TOLD WHAT TO DO BECAUSE IF YOU ARE AGREEING WITH THE MARAUDERS YOU NEED HELP!" Snape roared

Lily looked murderous "I'M JUST A FILTHY LITTLE MUDBLOOD! ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU CALLED ME? A MUDBLOOD? I HAVE FILTHY BLOOD REMEMBER, MY BLOOD ISN'T PURE LIKE YOURS AND YOUR SLYTHERIN FRIENDS. I DON'T HAVE BLOOD RUNNING THROUGH MY VEINS, IT'S MUD! ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU THINK? YOUR RIGHT, I SHOULD LISTEN TO YOU SINCE YOUR A HALF BLOOD AND MORE SUPERIOR TO ME BECAUSE YOUR MOTHER IS A PUREBLOOD!" Lily's breaths were uneven and ragged as she stared at her former friend "You disgust me" She whispered

Denisa heard nothing coming from the door and realised that Snape must have set a charm on it. She opened the door quickly and walked in, Lily was crying and Snape looked murderous "I DISGUST YOU? YOU ARE THE ONE WILLING TO TALK TO POTTER AND BLACK AND THAT WEREWOLF!"

Denisa pulled out her wand and sent a spell at Snape, she intentionally made it miss and Snape turned around and walked towards her a scowl was etched on his face and some of his greasy hair flopped in front of his face "I am going to make you pay for taking her away from me. I don't know if it'll be this year or next year but I will make you regret this" Snape hissed in a whisper before he stormed out of the room. Lily slowly sank to the floor as her body shuddered with deep sobs. Denisa inwardly shivered and once Snape left she ran to Lily and enveloped her in a tight and comforting hug.

"I'm sorry Lily" Denisa whispered "It's going to be okay. It's all going to be okay" Denisa reassured her, although she too had tears streaming down her face; she hated seeing Lily cry.

Loud laughter entered the room as the Marauders walked in and Sirius was first to notice the girls

"Nisa? Flower?" Sirius said as he walked up to them and knelt down "What happened?"

"Has someone hurt you?" Peter said in a slightly angry voice as he too knelt in front of the girls

Remus sat down and wrapped an arm around Lily who had her face buried in Denisa's shoulder while James said "Really, what happened? His voice was tight as he watched Lily cry, he wanted to hold her and comfort her. He lowered himself in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked

Lily sniffed and looked up "Se- Snape," She corrected herself "we- we talked and I told him I didn't want to be friends with him ever again" She said tearfully

James' hands had absent-mindedly clenched his fists at the mention as Severus' name

"H- he was mad. He said you guys put me against him" Lily explained

James wiped her tears away "He isn't worth a single tear" James said truthfully

Lily nodded as she looked into James eyes, his were always full of kindness when directed at her. They were so much different that Severus' black, empty ones.

Sirius stood and pulled Denisa up with him while Remus pulled Lily up

Denisa hugged Peter "What's with the affection?" Remus asked Denisa who shrugged but didn't let go of Peter who hugged her back

Denisa smiled and slowly let go of Peter "He's cuddly" Denisa said and Sirius frowned slightly jealously

"Am I not cuddly?" He asked, widening his arms invitingly and Denisa smiled before hugging Sirius too, he was warm and smelt amazing and he enveloped her much smaller body easily. When Sirius let go of her he hugged Peter who tried pushing him off, but to no avail

"Gerrof me, gerrof Padfoot!" Peter squirmed and tried to push Sirius away from him

Sirius let go of Peter "You are cuddly!" Sirius said gleefully

Peter sighed "You know, it's nowhere near as flattering as it was when Denisa said it"

Sirius pouted and gave Peter his puppy dog eyes, something no one could resist and Peter turned away from the grey eyes.

Denisa and Lily sat at their desk again as Professor Slughorn came in. The Marauders sat at the back, they sneered at Snape as he walked in, his greasy hair billowing behind him

"Today we will be identifying some potions that I have and then you will be making a potion to cure most poisons" Slughorn announced, he clapped his hand together "Now come and stand around this table here! Come on now, that's right. Make sure you can all see" Their were not that many students in the N.E.W.T level Potions class, there were five Hufflepuffs, seven Ravenclaws, seven Slytherins and eight Gryffindors

On the large table were three cauldrons with lids on them, he opened the first one which was a thick mud-like substance "Now who can tell me what this potion is?" Denisa, Lily and a few Ravenclaws

Slughorn seemed surprised Denisa knew the answer so chose her "Miss Wilson?"

"It's Polyjuice Potion, Professor" Denisa said and Snape sneered at her

Slughorn beamed "Five points to Gryffindor and another five if you can tell me what it does"

"It can make you transform into another person. Normally hair is taken from the person you wish to become and put into the potion making you become someone else. It takes a month to brew though."

"Very good Miss Wilson, five points to Gryffindor" Slughorn smiled before putting the lid back onto the Polyjuice Potion and taking the lid off the next one. It was a black potion "Now who can tell me what this is?"

Lily's hand shot up "Miss Evans?" Slughorn asked beaming at his favourite student

"It's the Draught of Living Death" Lily answered

Slughorn smiled "Fifteen points to Gryffindor!" He once again close the cap and moved to the last potion, this one had a mother-of-pearl sheen and characteristic steam rose from it, immediately everyone's noses were filled with heavenly scents.

Lily smelled fresh grass, the smell of a broomstick, an inky smell, freshly baked chocolate cake, and another smell she had smelt but couldn't place along with cinammon. Denisa smelt peppermint, cigarettes, a musky smell, cologne, rain and - Sirius, she frowned at the potion but said nothing. James smelt vanilla, Earl Grey tea, lilies and roses, he knew it was the smell of Lily and smiled, breathing it in. Sirius breathed in a smell of petrol, apples, strawberries and the country side, he couldn't remember where he smelt this. Remus could smell chocolate, toasted marshmallows and new books there was also the smell of home, that just content smell you smell when you enter your home after a long day. Peter smelled the seaside, fish and chips and raspberries. Snape frowned he could smell lavender and jasmine, but no lilies or roses.

"Who can tell me what this potion is?" Slughorn said in a potion induced blissful voice and Lily put her hand up "Miss Evans?"

"Amortentia, the strongest love potion in the world" Lily sighed happily and breathed in deeply

"Five points to Gryffindor, Amortentia smells different to every person, the smells are those that attract the person" Slughorn said and looked at Lily "If you do not mind me asking, what does it smell like for you?"

Lily blushed slightly "Fresh grass, cinammon, chocolate cake and broomsticks" She said quietly

"Another point for sharing. Who else would like to share?"

Sirius put his hand up "I smell petrol" He announced while a few Purebloods shot him strange looks as they had no idea what petrol was

"Another point to Gryffindor," Slughorn looked slightly amused "any one else?" Slughorn asked

"I smell apples" Sirius said casually and with a small grin on his face

Slughorn chuckled "Another point. Okay I think I should close this." He put the lid over the potion "Amortentia creates a very strong infatuation, but not real love. It can be a very dangerous thing to use. So I must ask that you don't try any of this"

The students nodded. "Now, find an antidote to poisons in your potions book and start brewing!" Slughorn said happily

They all went to their cauldrons. "Messrs Black and Potter! I want you two working behind Miss Evans and Miss Wilson so I can keep and eye on you"

The boys nodded and went to the desk behind Lily and Denisa. Lily, Denisa, Severus and two other Slytherins and three Gryffindors were working on the potions alone while the others were working in twos.

Sirius and James' potion was making a strange popping sound behind them, Lily turned around to see that their potion was a bright yellow. She shook her head and turned back to her potion, which was going along perfectly. Five minutes before Slughorn began looking at people potions Lily and Denisa were done. Lily's was perfect in colour while Denisa's was slightly lighter. Sirius and James' was atrocious it was lumpy and a very pale green.

Lily sighed and took hold of her cauldron she put it on James and Sirius' desk and took away their potion, vanishing it with her wand

"Lily Flower, what in Merlin's name are you doing?" Sirius asked

Lily shrugged "I don't want you two to fail because you were messing about. Take my potion"

"What about you!?" James asked, Lily smirked and walked to into the supply cupboard and coming out with a small black, rock thing.

When Slughorn arrived and James and Sirius' potion he let out a loud laugh "This is perfect m'boys! How did you do it?"

James smiled "We just followed the instructions" James said innocently while Snape glared at him heavily

Sirius nodded "10 points to Gryffindor, each" Slughorn said

"Thank you Professor." They said happily

Slughorn got to Lily and looked into James' empty cauldron

"Lily, m'dear, where is your antidote?" Slughorn asked, slightly put out that his favourite student hadn't made one

Lily stuck out her hand, Slughorn looked at it before letting out a booming laugh "Ah, Lily you magnificent girl! You are always full of surprises! If I have said it once, I have said it a hundred times" Slughorn said "You should have been in Slytherin my dear girl" Slughorn said merrily

"But Professor, would you not get sick of me if you had to see me that much?" Lily asked

Slughorn's stomach bounced as he laughed "20 points to Gryffindor for pure wit!" He announced

Lily smiled, while Severus Snape scribbled something in his tattered potions book.

* * *

The Marauders stood outside the Ravenclaw Common Room in Ravenclaw Tower in front of a door with no doorknob or keyhole but merely had a bronze eagle shaped knocker. They knocked and the eagle asked "What is four four footed, two footed, and three footed?"

Remus and James "Er-" James said

"I have no idea" Peter said

Remus thought "Four footed - an animal? No - er - a baby" He laughed slightly at himself

Sirius had scrunched up his face in thought "That could work" He said "A baby crawls, and as they get older they walk on two feet but I don't know about the three footed"

Remus thought for a moment before nodding "Elderly people have walking sticks, that counts as an extra foot" He turned to the knocker "Man" He answered and the Ravenclaw common room door swung open "Why did we do that?"

James shrugged "Maybe we just wanted to prove we were just as smart as Ravenclaws" Peter laughed while James clapped his hands and pulled out his wand with a grin. They had researched and found incantations to make the door ask questions that the Marauder had come up with. Once they were done they went and sat on the bench across from the Ravenclaw common room, Peter had transformed into a rat and Sirius had transformed too. James and Remus sat next to each other with Padfoot at their feet and Wormtail sat on James' leg. The Invisibility Cloak was thrown over them.

A fourth year Ravenclaw boy went up to the entrance which immediately asked "If you could choose between living forever, becoming the richest man on Earth or having James Potter play Chaser on your Quidditch team, how would you get James to swap houses?"

The poor Ravenclaw's eyes widened and he began thinking "E-er I- I would er- thr- threaten him?"

James scoffed "Threaten me? As if" He whispered to Remus who shook his head

The two sixth year Ravenclaw prefects came and were asked "Why is Peter Pettigrew so cuddly?" Neither could answer and they just stared at the door knocker

"How did Sirius Black get so good-looking?" Was directed to a Ravenclaw sixth year

"He was born good-looking?" She guessed. Surprisingly she was let in. James and Remus exchanged annoyed looks while Padfoot seemed to be grinning

"If you could choose between passing your N.E.W.T.s with Os in everything or spending the day with the Marauders, what would you do with your 24 hours?"

Soon there was a whole crowd of Ravenclaws who were discussing the most recent question

"No, obviously Sirius Black doesn't use hair products!" One girl shouted

A seventh year boy scoffed "Of course he does, it doesn't fall that way naturally!" He insisted

"No, guys your wrong. It's James Potter who uses the products" A fifth year intervened

"Really, I thought his hair was naturally messy" The girl said confused

"No, Sirius' hair is natural, James uses products. Remus probably doesn't care and neither does Peter" Said a fourth year boy

There was a chorus of "Ohh"s and "Uh huhs" from the Ravenclaws

The Marduers were soon in the Gryffindor Common room laughing about their recent prank

"Products!? Please, this hair is naturally messy" James said "Products don't even work on my hair" James roared with laughter

"I can't believe one got in!" Remus said indignantly

"I know, this prank was supposed to be fool-proof!" Peter said "It is all Padfoot's fault, obviously"

Sirius smirked "Well, she was right. I was born good-looking" Sirius said with a charming smile

Peter scoffed at him "She was probably guessing"

Sirius pulled in a deep breath "You take that back Peter Pettigrew! I am good-looking!"

"No Pete, don't feed his ego!" Someone said from behind them

Peter giggled "Beanie, you know I wouldn't"

Denisa sighed "I hate that nickname" She said irritably and looked at Sirius "And it is your fault I have it" Denisa hit him lightly over the head and then watched as he rolled around as though in pain with a hand on the back of his head. Denisa smiled "Get up, Black" She said

"Where's Evans?" James asked, noting the absence of Denisa's best friend

"I put her to bed, she was very tired" Denisa said

"You put her to bed?" Remus asked with a raised eye brow

"Yes," Denisa said, not really affected by the fact "she didn't want to sleep so I had to put a full-body bind on her and I guess she fell asleep"

"Why were you putting her to bed?" Peter asked "Was she misbehaving?" He had a teasing tone in his voice

Denisa either didn't notice or didn't care "I put her to bed because, she had a hard day with Snape and she had hardly slept the night before. She needed it. But Merlin she is stubborn" Denisa shook her head and turend to James with a small smile "You have your work cut out for you" She said

"I know" Was James' simple answer.

* * *

**I know no one likes Peter, I don't either. However, I think what really got to Sirius and Remus was that Peter was a brother to them, he was a Marauder. The betrayal was terrible because he was always around and joined in with the pranks and they all had fun together, they loved him and they thought he loved them too. He was also obviously smart since he lied right under Dumbledore's nose for J.K Rowling knows how long. **

**I was wondering if people could tell me what they thought about the character Denisa. Denisa's personality is based of one of my friends, her looks are sort of similar to my cousins and the name is one that I have loved for years. It's pronounced Den-ee-sa. In case you don't know.**

**I also put some Snape in there, even though I hate the slimy git.**

**The James/Lily relationship wont start until seventh year and neither will the Denisa/Sirius relationship.**

**Please review because I would love to read about your feelings towards the story**


	4. Quidditch,Professors,Adoration,War&Duels

**Quidditch, Professors, Adoration, War and Duels**

James walked down to the Quidditch Pitch, his Quidditch uniform on '_POTTER_' written in yellow on the back of the scarlet material and his Nimbus 1970 on his back. It was a Wednesday and 5:00 in the morning. The whole teams were waiting, the Keeper was Frank Longbottom a Seventh year, the Beaters were William Morris and Dirk Quinn also Seventh years with dark brown hair and brown eyes, both were quite strong and excellent beaters, the Chasers were Susan Taylor a fifth year with short black hair and a blue fringe, Rebecca Smith also a fifth year with light brown hair and blue eyes and James, the Seeker was a small and agile Seventh year with sleek blonde hair and light blue eyes called Keith Hurbert.

"James, you're a great Captain and an even better Chaser, but did we _really_ have to get up at 5 for a Quidditch practice?" William asked before his mouth stretched into a loud yawn

Dirk rubbed his eyes "Yeah, I need my sleep" He nudged Keith who was beginning to fall asleep again

James didn't seem to have heard them "All right, tomorrow is our match against Ravenclaw and we are going to win! Unfortunately four of you will be leaving at the end of this year and I will not let you leave without the knowledge that you helped Gryffindor secure the Quidditch cup for the ninth year in a row!" James said pacing in front of them "We have the best players and we are the best team, we've already beat Hufflepuff and Slytherin are having a laugh if they think they can beat us, Ravenclaw again, easily beatable. We have two unbeatable Beaters, a Keeper who has brought us to victory many a time, a Seeker who can see a Snitch a mile away and two lovely Chasers who never seem to miss a hoop! We can win this!" The team nodded

"You forgot yourself, mate. You can throw a Quaffle into the hoop from the other end of the pitch!" Keith said

James smiled "Let's practice!"

The team was obviously tired but they tried their hardest for nearly two hours before James let them shower and change. After he was done James made his way to the Marauders dorm room where Remus was reading a book while Sirius and Peter slept. James grinned at Remus who smirked back. Remus and James had come up with an agreement, if the two of them were up at the same time they would find the most weirdest ways to wake the other two up.

Remus and James waved their wands at each other, James made Remus grow out a grey beard and moustache, he changed his eyes colour to blue, robes to purple and added a transfigured pair of moon shaped glasses. Remus now looked exactly like Albus Dumbledore, they had even changed his voice. Remus made James unruly black hair become straight and black, it then went into a tight bun. James now looked like Minerva 'Minnie' McGonagall.

They both walked over to Sirius' bed and stood over him. Sirius stirred sightly and opened his eyes

"Mr Black" James said, although his voice was now feminine and had a Scottish accent

Sirius jumped up and looked up to see two of his Professors next to his bed "Er- Not to be rude or anything. But what in Merlin's name are you two doing in here?"

James put Professor McGonagall's hand to his chest "Thank goodness. Albus and I- We thought that yo- you would never wake up" James pretended to cry silently

Remus shook Dumbledore's head "Minerva, calm yourself. You do not want to worry the boy"

Sirius looked terrified "Wh- what happened?"

Remus smiled sadly "You have been in a deep sleep for the past fourteen years"

Sirius shook his head quickly "No- I-I- I can't ha- have. Where are my friends?"

"Gone. Mr Potter and Miss Evans, well Potter now, have gotten married, they have eleven children, five girls and six boys. Remus has married a Metamorphmagus and has a son who has his mothers powers and Peter is the Minister of Magic with Cornelius Fudge as his slave" James said

Remus looked ready to burst out laughing but rearranged his face quickly and nodded

"I- I can't believe it" Sirius sighed and propped his head back on his pillow "Am I the Godfather to any of the kids?"

"No. Remus is Godfather to seven of them while Severus Snape is Godfather to two of them and Peter is Godfather to the last two" Remus said

James stared at Remus, really Snape? His faced contorted with disgust.

"SNIVELLUS? HOW CAN THEY MAKE SNIVELLUS A GODFATHER!?" Sirius screamed "How can they not appoint me Godfather! I have half a mind to go after them now!"

"But Mr Black, who would be a better Godfather you or Peter Pettigrew the Minister of Magic of the past five years" Remus asked, his blue eyes twinkling under his glasses

Sirius pondered this before nodding "What's Remus' wife called? Have I met her?"

Remus couldn't form words and James stuttered before shouting "NYMPHADORA!" Remus looked alarmingly at James, clearly wanting to kick him. Hard.

Sirius blanched "My cousins daughter!? She's like five!" Sirius said in a panic, he had baby sat Nymphadora many times.

Remus looked ready to throw up, while James stuttered again "It- it is a different Nymphadora?"

Sirius relaxed slightly "Poor kid, having to live with a name like Nymphadora. Don't know what Dromeda was thinking calling her daughter that, cruel if you ask me"

James frowned "Your name is Sirius, you are in no place to talk" James said

Sirius smiled and said "Yes Minnie" James opened his mouth to reply but Remus cut him off

"You haven't asked about Miss Wilson" Remus said and James smirked slightly at him

Sirius leaned back on his pillow "What happened to her?" Sirius said off handedly

"She tried to kill you, you got feelings for Miss Evans and Miss Wilson was very, very jealous. After you fell into your coma she married Amos Diggory" Remus replied

"Diggory!? Really, I feel nothing for Lily Flower! Nothing! I can't believe it, she tried to kill me!" Sirius shouted and stood up and looked around the room, a look of confusion on his handsome face "Why am I at Hogwarts and not St Mungos?" He asked with narrowed eyes

James and Remus looked at each other their mouths opening and closing "You - er - w- we thought you would - um - be more comfortable here" James tried

"Is that Wormtail?!" Sirius shouted looking over at Peter's bed then at the two empty ones of James and Remus before her put everything together he turned to his Professors and took his wand from the table beside his bed

"Moony, Prongs" Sirius sneered "You better run!"

James and Remus didn't need telling twice, Remus scooped up his beard and pulled his purple robes higher while James held onto his hat with one hand and used the other to hitch up his black robes. They both ran out the door and down the stairs into the common room. There were a few Seventh years up studying and looked confused to see Dumbedore and McGonagall running past.

Remus ran through the portrait hole, with James close behind, and through the hall ways. Sirius was shouting at them his wand raised, a purple light flashed past Remus, narrowly missing him,

"RUN MOONY, RUUUUUUUN!" James shouted as Remus began slowing down, James took his hand off of his hat and took hold of Remus' arm and began pulling him along, the hat fell off.

Sirius shot another hex and this time the it was a dark blue "YOU IDIOTS! YEAH, YOU BETTER RUN!"

James dodged a light pink spell and they made a sharp right turn Sirius' footsteps were pounding behind them, he had still not turned, before something trapped James right foot and he fell to the floor. Remus stopped to help but James shook him off. They were in a large hall way which had Professor Flitwick's Charm class' door along with a broom closet.

"Go, Moony. Go, save yourself. It is too late for me" James said as he rubbed his ankle and looked sadly at Remus in defeat

Remus shook his head quickly "I can't leave you Prongs" He said desperatly, James thought it sounded weird in Professor Dumbledore's voice, Sirius' footsteps got louder as he was getting closer

James took Remus' wrinkly hand "Go!" He said and Remus nodded, his beard shaking then stood and began running down the corridor

"BYE PRONGS!" He shouted and threw the grey beard over his shoulder

James groaned "Bye Moony" He whispered. He turned back to inspect his foot and was met with the sight of a pair of feet, his head went up to meet the menacing eyes of his best friend, James shuffled backwards as Sirius rubbed his wand lovingly "Padfoot, yo- you don't want to do this"

Sirius raised an eye brow "Don't I?" He asked, his voice casual as he watched his best friend who still looked like Professor McGonagall shuffle backwards on the stone floor.

"Of course you don't, I'm your best friend" James smiled though it came out like more of a grimace

"Yes, that's true. But it is not going to stop me from hexing you" Sirius raised his wand and was about to say an incantation but was interrupted by Professor Flitwick

"Sirius!" Squeaked small Professor Flitwick as he emerged from his classroom "What are you doing!? Minerva are you all right?" He asked James

"Oh yes, I'm quite all right" James said "I was ju-"

"Sirius how could you try to attack your teacher!?" Flitwick cut in, looking up at Sirius who was about three times the size of tiny Professor Flitwick.

"It's not Minnie, I'd never hex her! It's James. He was pranking me" Sirius waved his wand at James who immediately became his normal self, James grinned at Flitwick

Flitwick sighed "Boys, one day you will have to grow up. Ten points from Gryffindor each, however that was some very good Charm and Transfiguration work, twenty points to Gryffindor each"

"Oh, but that isn't much at all" Remus or Professor Dumbledore stopped in front of them "I think you should give them some more, incredible work. Very believable too"

Flitwick smiled at Dumbledore "Yes, definitely another twenty points!" Flitwick said and scurried off

James and Sirius exchanged looks, neither knew if this was Remus or not and neither wanted to raise their wand at him at the chance that he really was Dumbledore.

"Boys, you should go get changed and eat something, there is only twenty minutes until your classes begin. I believe you have Divination first" Dumbledore or Remus said before leaving

James made a strange movement with his head and straightened his glasses before making his way to the Common Room.

"Can you believe it? Dumbledore and McGonagall ran right through! I couldn't believe my eyes" A Seventh year was telling a friend

"No, I don't believe it, really?" Their friend said, the Seventh year nodded

James smirked as he quickly ran up to the dorm and changed. Peter was rummaging through his trunk and turned when the door opened

"Where were you guys?" Peter asked

James filled in Peter on everything that happened, by the end Peter was laughing so hard he was gaining a stitch. Sirius walked in muttering darkly about betrayals and something about a pineapple. James stood up and walked over to Sirius

"Forgive me Padfoot! Please, I can't go on like this! I promise that I will never make myself look like Minnie and make you think you were in a coma again!" James said

Sirius stared at him "Solemnly swear?" He asked with a raised eye brow

James smiled at his best friend and held out his hand "Solemnly swear" Sirius shook it. "Time for Divination"

Sirius smirked and brought a large box towards him and pulled out a fake crystal ball that only showed bad omens "I've wanted to use one of these for ages" James grinned at him and adjusted his glasses

Sirius, James and Peter stepped into the Divination classroom, it was heavily perfumed and at times could be extremely hot, Professor Anton was standing at the front of the class, she was dark-skinned with black hair that was tied back, she had a large black wart above the left side of her top lip, she had heavy-lidded eyes and was wrapped in shawls and jewellery.

James and Sirius took their seats at one table while Peter walked over to where Denisa was sitting alone and sat next to her. Lily and Remus both thought that Divination was a terrible lesson and opted for Arithmancy.

"Hey, Beanie" Peter whispered as he sat down

Denisa scowled at the nickname "Don't call me that and hello, Peter"Denisa said in a low voice

"Today we will be freshening our crystal ball gazing" Professor Anton said dreamily, a few girls were hanging onto her every word "Those who do not posses the Inner Eye may not see anything but those select few will see the truth of their futures. You may begin"

Sirius discreetly switch the two crystal balls and looked into it then gave a large exaggerated gasp "Professor!"

Professor Anton walked over "Yes Mr Black?" She asked, slightly irritated

"I-I see the Grim!" Sirius shuddered while James attempted to keep a straight face

James' eyes widened quite comically and he also gave a gasp "What does this mean Professor?"

Professor Anton looked into the ball before stumbling back a few steps "In- Indeed, it's the Gr-Grim! M- My dear boy, is this t- the first time you have seen it? You haven't seen a large black dog have you?" Anton asked

James sighed dejectedly "Unfortunately I came across one on the night of the full moon" He said in a dramatic tone

Peter coughed loudly, probably from trying to keep his laughter hidden, Sirius cover his face with his hands and his body was shaking with silent laughter, Professor Anton thought he was crying and patted his back. Denisa pointed her wand at the crystal ball and muttered something under her breath

"Professor, a- am I going to die?" James asked, Sirius bit his lip to keep from smiling. The rest of the class was looking quite sad at the thought.

Anton didn't seem to want answer "The Grim is an omen of death... I am very sorry dear boy" Anton looked back into the crystal ball and straightened up outraged, the crystal ball now had a large yellow smiley face in it "Detention Misters Potter and Black"

Sirius stood up "We haven't done anything! I just found out my best mate is going to die because of a big black dog!" Trying hard to keep a straight face, neither he nor James cared that they had detention, they were so used to cleaning trophies and cauldrons they would finish in half an hour and spend the rest of the detention planning pranks.

Anton was shaking with anger, her wart wobbled slightly "Maybe you should look into the ball" She snapped and went to help the adoring girls who hung onto her every word and looked into the ball before whispering loudly "A stork? You see a stork Miss Fabray? Maybe we should talk after class" Anton looked at her and shook her head slightly, Fabray and Blackthorn were looking at each other questionably

Sirius looked at the smiling yellow face that was glowing in the ball then looked up and met the glinting eyes of Denisa Wilson. She smirked and blew her wand, she had seen someone do that in a Muggle movie to a strange metal thing called a gun. Sirius felt a strange flutter in his chest and his palms felt slightly sweaty, sure he fancied her before but now. Now he absolutely adored her. She had gotten him a detention! He felt a strange amount of pride. She was beautiful, mischievous, she got along with his friends, didn't care about Remus' Lycanthropy, she was sweet and kind and compassionate. Dear Merlin he was falling fast.

Sirius grinned and tipped an invisible hat at her, she smiled before whispering something in Peter's ear. His eyes widened slightly and he began giggling

"Did you really do that, Beanie?" Peter asked

"Don't call me that, Pete, but yes I did. Ergh, did you see how Anotn's wart wobbled, disgusting" Denisa said, shivering slightly. Sirius was still staring at her while James was putting the real Crystal Ball on the table

The morning of the Quidditch match of Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw was here. The Gryffindor Quidditch team wore their scarlet Quidditch robes and walked down to the pitch, their broomsticks on their backs.

"We are going to win this. We have better players and have practised more than them" James said

"Hell yeah we're going to win!" Frank said "We have this in the bag!"

"Cap'n you ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout" Susan smiled "We're the best team!"

"Those Ravenclaws have no chance what so ever" William said

James nodded "It's time, come on" The team stood up and walked onto the pitch, the stadium was full of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws with a few Slytherins that were probably there to shout insults at the Gryffindor team.

"The Ravenclaw team comes onto the pitch, the Keeper, Francis, the Chasers, Daniels, Anderson and Crayton, the Beaters, Mason and Lee and the Seeker, Walker! The Captain for Ravenclaw is Michael Anderson" Sirius' voice rang through the pitch, he was commentating "And the Gryffindor team, the Keeper, Longbottom, the Chasers, Taylor, Smith and POTTER! The Beaters, Morris and Quinn and the Seeker Hurbert! The Captain for Gryffindor is my best friend James Potter!" Sirius announced the Gryffindor team with a lot more excitement

Madame Hooch walked onto the Pitch "Captains shake hands" A silver whistle was dangling from her neck.

James took hold of Andersons hand and shook it. "3, 2, 1" Hooch counted before the whistle sounded and the players kicked off the ground and shot up. James immediately took hold of the Quaffle and threw it to Smith

"And it's Smith with the Quaffle, she passes it to Taylor who passes it to Potter, who makes his way to the hoops and is about to shoot the Quaffle through the left hoop, Francis dives to the left but Potter changes direction and throws the Quaffle through the middle hoop! 10 points to Gryffindor! Crayton takes possession of the Quaffle and passes it to Anderson who throws back to Crayton who makes her way to the Gryffindor hoops and aims the Quaffle at the right hoop and throws it, Longbottom easily intercepts it and throws it to Smith who throws to Taylor, Taylor dodges a Bludger aimed by Lee and throws the Quaffle to Potter who ducks a Bludger also aimed by Lee, Mason doesn't seem to know what a Beater should be doing - Sorry Professor, just telling it how it is. Potter throws the Quaffle to Taylor who shoots it through the middle hoop. Gryffindor is leading with 20-0. Daniels is in possession of the Quaffle and loses possession after being his with a Bludger aimed by Quinn, see Mason, that's how you do it. _Minnie! I am trying to tell the audience what is happening, stop interrupting!_" Sirius smirked as McGonagall's lips became a thin line "Oh, Anderson scores. Didn't even see it. Blame Minnie everyone. Smith is in possession and dodges a Bludger sent to her by Mason who has found out what the bat in his hand is used for! There is still no sign of the Snitch and Walker is now following Hurbert instead of _searching by himself!_" Sirius sounded frustrated

It was true Hurbert was looking extremely annoyed and was about ready to sock Walker in the face, something James didn't want happening.

"Ignore him!" James shouted to Hurbert who was scowling at Walker. Walker was only a metre away from him. Hurbert turned to the right then left and starts flying about the pitch, growing steadily more irritated by the fact that Walker will not stop tailing him. Hurbert's light blue eyes flashed in annoyance and then he suddenly smirked. He aimed his broom and

"Hurbert goes into a deep dive, has he seen the Snitch? Walker follows immediately but at the last second Hurbert shoots back upwards, Walker barely manages to follow and has hopefully decided not to stalk Hurbert any more." James could hear the grin on Sirius' face "Potter passes the Quaffle to Taylor who passes it to Smith who shoots the Quaffle into the right hoop! Gryffindor is still leading with 30-10! Crayton is in possession and aims for the middle hoop, which is stopped by Longbottom"

Lily, Denisa, Alice, Mary, Remus and Peter all adorned in Gryffindor scarves, the girls had red and yellow stripes on their cheeks, Alice was wearing a scarlet jersey that had '_LONGBOTTOM_' printed in yellow over the back.

"I LOVE QUIDDITCH!" Denisa shouted, the others laughed.

"We know" Alice smiled "Oh, James scored again!" She jumped up and down, she was hardly paying attention to the game though as she was more interested in watching her boyfriend as he defended the hoops time after time. Frank, probably sensing someone staring at him, turned around and smiled a 100 watt smile at Alice who waved happily and blushed. Mary rolled her eyes at her friend, they had dated for nearly two years and were both still so smitten. She thought it was adorable.

Peter clapped happily "GO PRONGS!" He shouted along with Remus while Denisa, Mary and Alice shouted "GO JAMES!"

Lily whooped enthusiastically, her dark red hair flying around in the wind and her nose and cheeks were slightly pink. "POTTER YOU BETTER SCORE!" She shouted very, very loudly

James looked around as he heard his name and immediately found his friends, he couldn't help but notice that Lily still looked great with messy, windswept hair and pink cheeks. He waved at them and grinned before returning to the game after Taylor slapped him lightly over the head and telling him to pay attention to the match instead of Evans

"Daniels passes the Quaffle to Anderson who passes it back to him, Daniels approaches the hoops but the Quaffle is taken by Taylor, better pay attention next time, who makes her way over to the Ravenclaw hoops where Francis is waiting for the throw. Taylor raises her arm to throw into the right hoop but at the last second drops the Quaffle into Potter's arms, who was waiting a few metres underneath her, and he shoots the Quaffle through the left hoop! Gryffindor is leading with 50-10! Hurbert goes into a dive again, the Snitch is on Ravenclaw's side of the pitch! Walker doesn't seem to have noticed, however Lee and Mason do and aim two Bludgers at Hurbert, Hurbert dodges just in time but that was enough time for the Snitch to disappear again! Daniels shoots the Quaffle through the middle hoop as Longbottom is distracted with his shouting in frustration! _Cheats!_ Sorry Minnie. Smith takes the Quaffle and moves out-of-the-way of a Bludger aimed by Mason, she raises her arm and is about to score but the Quaffle is taken by Anderson, _dirty bastard,_ sorry Minnie, he aims and shoots the Quaffle through the left hoop and scores. _50-20 to Gryffindor_! Is that the Snitch? Hurbert immediately pulls into a dive Walker close behind, Hurbert out stretches his hand and his fingers wrap around the Snitch earning Gryffindor 150 points! Gryffindor wins with 200-20! _GRYFFINDOR WINS_! WOOO HOOO" Sirius cheered and took hold of McGonagall and twirled her around, she didn't even seem to notice as she was smiling so widely

Denisa and Lily jumped up and down "WE WON! WE WON!" Alice ran down to the changing rooms, probably to snog Frank and Mary followed behind and went to congratulate her fellow Seventh years. and boy friend, Keith Hurbert.

Remus and Peter pulled the cheering girls down to where James was waiting, just off the pitch.

"Congrats Prongs, you were great" Remus said with a grin and he clapped James on the back lightly

"Yeah, it was so fantastic!" Denisa agreed, she smiled as Sirius jumped onto James' back "Sirius, you're going to break his spine!" She said, though she didn't sound scolding, merely playful

Sirius shrugged "Just congratulating my friend" He said with a sniff and got down from James' back "Excellent game mate!"

Lily smiled "It was amazing! But Sirius you should be less biased" Lily scolded lightly

"Nuh uh, he's a Gryffindor, he can't just stand idly while the Gryffindor Quidditch team are pelted by Bludgers" Denisa said with a small grin "Especially if it is his best friend"

Sirius wrapped an arm around Denisa and Lily's shoulders "See," He said to Lily "Nisa gets it"

Lily laughed "Sirius, Sirius, Sirius. What would we do without you?" Lily said sarcastically

Sirius chuckled "Lily Flower you couldn't exist without me!" Sirius said with a bark like laugh

Remus smirked "What about me?" He asked pouting slightly. Denisa pulled away from Sirius and ran up to hug Remus

"Aw, don't worry Rem, you're my favourite" Remus smiled at her

"You want a piggy back?" Remus asked Denisa grinned and jumped onto his back, glad she was wearing her grey sweatpants today.

Sirius frowned slightly at them but said nothing and turned to Lily with questioning eyes, she jumped onto his back and Sirius began running up to the castle

Remus silently accepted the challenge and began running after them, Denisa and Lily were laughing loudly.

James smiled at them, he loved that Lily got on so well with Sirius. They were like siblings, she was the same way with Remus and Peter. Just not him. Their relationship was complicated, he didn't even know if he could call her a friend. Denisa too was becoming quite close to the Marauders, James, Remus and Peter saw her as a sister, they were all very protective of Denisa and Lily. Again, Sirius' and Denisa's relationship was odd.

Peter looked longingly at Remus and Denisa before he turned to James who scoffed "Don't even think about it, Wormtail" James said Peter and James walked into Common room to find them all laughing merrily on the couch. James sat next to Sirius while Peter sat on the soft rug in front of the fire. They joked about for nearly half an hour before Denisa looked meaningfully at Lily who nodded slightly, they both stood up "We are going to do girly things, we'll see you guys later" Denisa said and linked her arm in Lily's and they walked out. The boys exchanged confused looks before shrugging and talking about the Quidditch match.

After every Gryffindor Quidditch game Denisa and Lily would sneak out to Hogsmeade and spend the day shopping and go to The Three Broomsticks for Butterbeers and Firewhiskey, they had done this since Third year. Lily was extremely popular but everyone thought she also abided by the rules, never put a toe out of line. This was not the case. Lily and Denisa have gone out to Hogsmeade in the middle of the night to get a bit tipsy, they have taken trips through the Forbidden Forest for the hell of it, they have explored the grounds, they have swam with the Giant Squid, they were like the Marauders in many ways, the only difference was that they didn't get caught. Although, the Marauders liked getting caught, they didn't want any one saying they performed the amazing pranks. Plus James and Sirius have the record for the most detentions ever gotten, and they knew no one would ever pass the 1274 and counting detentions they had.

Lily and Denisa approached the Statue of the One Eyed Witch and whispered '_Dissendium'_ and climbed through. The passageway was as dark as always and they chatted about random stuff as they walked through

"Muggles think unicorns are pink, Lily, that's just not right!" Denisa exclaimed and ducked slightly to avoid a spider web

Lily smiled "Dee, they don't. They just have some toy unicorns that come in all sorts of colours, not just pink"

Denisa stared at her incredulously and scoffed "How is that any better? We're here" Denisa announced as she pushed open the opening and checked that the Honeyduke's basement was empty, it was, and they climbed through. Denisa took about ten bars of chocolate from one of the many boxes and put them in her pocket then dropped a few galleons onto the floor.

"What's with all the chocolate Dee?" Lily asked, a smile on her face

Denisa stared at her, a slightly sheepish look on her face "It's for when we're gossiping, and my stash is nearly out"

Lily grinned "Good idea" Lily also took a Box of Bertie Botts, knowing they would be trying out every single odd looking one in the box, and threw some Sickles onto the floor

Lily and Denisa easily blended with the customers in the sweet shop and quickly walked out and onto the cobbled street of Hogsmeade. They were glad they weren't in their uniform, instead Lily had on blue skinny jeans and a red and yellow striped Gryffindor sweater with the sleeves rolled up. Denisa had black skinny jeans, she also had a Gryffindor jumper on, but hers was larger and baggier.

They walked into the Three Broomsticks, it wasn't as crowded as it would have been on a Hogsmeade weekend, and looked around for somewhere to sit

"Lily! Denisa!" A voice shouted, Madam Rosmerta was walking towards them, she hugged Lily first and then Denisa. "I'm guessing another Gryffindor victory?" She guessed looking at the Gryffindor jumpers

Denisa smiled "Obviously, Gryffindor is unbeatable" Rosmerta chuckled and walked back to behind the bar and gestured for the girls to sit in front of it on two wooden high chairs.

"So you girls will be wanting a bottle of Ogden's Firewhiskey?" Rosmerta asked, she was a twenty-six year old barmaid with curly blonde hair and pale green eyes. She always got the girls whatever they wanted because as Rosmerta had said many time to them 'I can't resist your green eyes Lily or your pout Denisa!'

Lily grinned at Rosmerta "You know us so well Rosie"

Rosmerta sighed heavily "If anyone were to find out I've sold Firewhiskey to sixteen year old's" She looked up at the girls who had completely innocent looks on their faces

"No one will find out, why would we tell?" Denisa asked "We do want you to sell to us and if we were found out where would we get some?"

Rosmerta smiled slightly "Yes, well the damage is done now. As long as you two are paying I ain't complaining. But you two won't tell anyone, right?" Rosmerta pointed a waggling finger at the two girls, trying to keep a straight face although her lips were twitching slightly at the sides

The girls gave identical grins "Of course Rosmerta" They said in sync, Rosmerta said the same thing every time they came.

Rosmerta smiled and pulled out a bottle of Firewhiskey "Do you want one or two?" She asked

"Two please" Lily said and handed Rosmerta four gold galleons and fourteen silver sickles, Denisa did the same.

"Keep the sickles girls" Rosmerta said "You two don't want to waste all you pocket-money on alcohol do you?"

Denisa shook her head "Of course not" She smiled innocently, they chatted for a while with Rosmerta when she wasn't serving customers and each had a warm Butterbeer. Denisa laughed at something Lily said then looked at the time "Lily, we should go if we don't want anyone to see us"

Lily nodded and the two girls said their 'Good byes' and 'Thank you's' to Rosmerta and left the Pub, making their familiar route to the Honeydukes basement and down into the Passageway. Lily shrunk the two bottles of Firewhiskey and put them into her pocket

"Good idea, if any of the Marauders see those bottles we wont be getting anything to drink" Denisa said

"Hm, that's true but I was actually shrinking them so no teachers see" Lily said "But you're right, if the teachers got their hand on them we could always steal them back however if the Marauders did... I shudder to think about watching them drink our Firewhiskey"

They walked back into the Common room where the boys were still making jokes in front of the fire, Remus was sat in an armchair, a closed book on his lap, laughing while Sirius and James were on the sofa , James' legs were over the top of it and he was telling a joke or story of some sort, Sirius was laughing loudly and the sound echoed around the room and Peter was sitting on the rug and giggling happily. It was a typical picture of the Marauders. A few girls were eyeing Sirius andJames hopefully.

Denisa scoffed and said "I don't see why they never check out Remus, he is so sweet, smart and kind and pretty damn good-looking if I do say so myself" Denisa gave the girls a dirty look

"I know! Gosh, don't they see that Potter and Sirius will just break their sad, gossipy hearts" Lily said angrily before she smiled at Remus who had just waved them over. Denisa sat on one of the arms of the armchair and hugged Remus

Remus smiled "What's up Dee, you're always more affectionate when you're upset about something" He said

"She's upset that no one is checking you out" Lily said "As a matter of fact, I am too" Lily then hugged him tightly

Remus shook his head and chuckled "Girls, I don't mind" Remus said

Denisa scoffed "Well we do! You're good-looking, smart and funny and no one sees that! Well me and Lily do but we can't date you 'cause you're like a brother" Denisa said and then grinned at him

"But, Beanie" Denisa scowled at the nickname "I don't want to date anyone and they know that" Remus said and leaned back slightly "I would rather have them asking out James and Sirius. It makes things easier for everyone"

"But why?" Lily asked, batting her eyelashes, Remus wouldn't look at her, no one could resist her green eyes.

James smirked "Evans there is no point in asking that, Moony wont date" He said, Denisa frowned slightly

"We've tried" Sirius said shuffling slightly to the middle of the sofa so Lily could sit next to him

"Like, really tried" Said Peter and he smiled from his seat on the floor

"But to no avail" James said, casting Sirius a slightly jealous look as Lily leaned her head on Sirius' shoulder "Moony doesn't want to date because of his furry little problem and I-"

"Hi, Sirius" A fifth year girl with long blonde hair and shiny brown eyes said, interrupting James who gave her a slightly annoyed look.

Sirius looked up and smiled at her charmingly "Yes?" He of course knew what was coming but he found it funny how nervous girls got around him

"I- Well - er - I was wondering if you - um - would like to - er - come to Hogsmeade with me next week?" The girl stuttered a lot, Denisa noted and put on an impassive expression.

"But I don't even know your name" Sirius said and glanced at Denisa who had a completely neutral expression on her face as she watched the scene. James and Remus had gone back to joking about since they were used to girls asking Sirius out

"It's Precious" The girl - Precious - said, Denisa snorted but turned it into a cough at the last second, Lily gulped down her laugh and looked down at her lap and quiet snickers could be heard from her, James, Remus and Peter glanced at each other before bursting into silent laughter while Sirius raised an eyebrow and glared at his friends

"All right - um - Precious, see you next Saturday" Said Sirius with a small smile

"Yeah, and you had better not stand me up" Precious smiled sweetly at him, she seemed to have a lot more confidence now, she pulled Sirius by the collar and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips and then skipped back to her group of friends.

Denisa looked pained for a second before putting on a fake smile that did not reach her eyes "How, Precious" She said sarcastically

All of them laughed except for Sirius who frowned

"You had better not stand her up, Padfoot" James said and smirked

"Yeah - er - because well - er - she - um - sounded - er - serious" Peter said in an almost perfect imitation

"Merlin she was a sloppy kisser" Sirius groaned and wiped his mouth of the wetness "Definitely one of the worst kisses I've ever gotten, Samantha from Ravenclaw, now she was a good kisser"

"Lils, girl night" Denisa said in a tight voice and got up, Lily immediately got up too and waved at the boys who waved back.

Denisa picked her wand up and swished and flicked it making her bed levitate she put it right next to Lily's and climbed in and drew all the scarlet hangings, Lily joined in and muttered the '_Muffliato_' charm and another charm to make sure no one could open the hangings. Lily pulled out the two tiny Firewhiskey bottles and returned them to their normal size and handed one to Denisa who had pulled out the chocolate and Bertie Botts.

Denisa opened her bottle and took a gulp, immediately revelling at the feeling of the hot alcohol sliding down her throat "That's the stuff" Denisa smiled and leaned back onto her pillows, she took a bit of chocolate and sucked on it until it melted.

"So, Precious" Lily said to her bottle

"Merlin, that name! Who calls their child that name?" Denisa said scathingly and took some more chocolate, she bit into it angrily "And her voice, God, Sirius - er - will - er - you - er - go - er - out - um - with - er- me? Um" Denisa said with a squeaky voice

Lily shook her dark red hair, "Do you like Sirius?" Lily asked, looking at Denisa with a smirk and knowing eyes

Denisa looked panicked before taking a long gulp of her drink and smiling "Of course not, he's a player. Sure he is really, really hot. But well it would never work out" She said before asking "Do you like James?"

Lily sighed at took a long drink "I really hope Fabray and Blackthorn don't try to get in here" Lily said, trying to change the topic, it worked

"I heard Fabray is pregnant" Denisa said airily, but she had a small smile on her face

Lily nearly spat out her Firewhiskey "What? Where did you hear that?"

Denisa smiled, she wasn't really into gossiping but when it came to Lana Blackthorn and Sandra Fabray she couldn't care less "Well, I heard her crying in the bathroom with Blackthorn, saying 'How could I let this happen?' blah, blah, blah then Blackthorn asked her if she bought a test and Fabray said yes and that it came out positive and in Divination Blackthron saw a stork in her Crystal ball when she was looking at Fabray's future. Now I know that Divination isn't exactly reliable but who can deny it?"

Lily and Denisa took simultaneous long drinks from their bottles "Wow" Lily said

"I know" Denisa nodded "And you know what else?" Lily turned her head to look at Denisa "She doesn't know who's the father" Denisa whispered

Lily's jaw slackened "Merlins hairy beard. She'll probably pin the blame on the one she likes the most"

Denisa nodded then clapped her hands "That's enough about two people who I really don't care for, a toast!" Denisa raised her bottle

Lily giggled "To what?"

Denisa thought for a moment "To us two being two of the most hated girls in school for being friends with the Marauders!"

Lily raised her bottle "Hear, Hear!" The girls raised their bottles and downed some.

Denisa smiled at Lily "You really are my best friend Lils"

"I know" Lily smiled, it faded as soon as it came"I really don't want to lose you to this war"

"I don't want to lose you either. Merlin I hate Voldemort!" Denisa said heatedly "He's destroying people's lives! And for what?"

Lily sighed "I don't know, Dee. But I know I want to fight against him!"

"Me too. But you don't want to be an Auror do you?"

"No, I want to be a Healer, but I could still fight!" Lily said determinedly, she had always wanted to be a doctor before learning about the magical world, her career hadn't changed except she would be helping with magical illnesses instead of Muggle ones.

Denisa nodded "Yeah. You can. It's terrible isn't it, the way so many people are dying because the Death Eaters want to have some fun. Everyday there are more and more deaths, not just magical people either, poor defenceless Muggles" Denisa shook her head

"What do you want to do?" Lily asked "I mean after school. What do you want to do?"

Denisa sighed "I honestly don't know, maybe something in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, or an Auror. Maybe I could even be a DADA teacher for a year"

"This is war, Dee" Lily said morosely. She knew it was, she knew that in a a bit less than a year she was going to come to her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. She was going to leave the safety of the castle that she called home. She and her friends were going to be thrown out into a war and fight, fight for her right in the Wizarding world.

"It is. What has this world come to? So much prejudiced people. It's despicable, it's genocide. Voldemort is trying to wipe out all the muggle borns, it's like that Hitler guy isn't it?"

Lily nodded "He's going to come after me too one day, isn't he" It was not a question. Neither spoke for a long time. They could faintly hear laughter coming from the common room, it had an eerily cold effect.

Denisa took Lily's hand after a while "I don't know Lils, but it's not just muggle borns, it's anyone who stands up to him. So he is going to come after me too, and I'm going to fight as much as I can, and so are you. Because death... death is the next adventure isn't it? That is what Voldemort is scared of. Death, he is scared to die"

"But, why?" Lily asked, he voice cracked slightly telling Denisa that she was close to tears "Why is he scared to die, why does he hate Muggle-borns. Why?" Lily asked helplessly. In truth she was terrified, terrified to fight, terrified to watch the ones she loved die, terrified that she wasn't going to be able to protect her mum, her dad, her sister. Petunia and Lily weren't on good terms but she would never want any one to go after her.

"I don't know, Lily" Denisa said dejectedly and took a large swig of her bottle and Lily did the same "It scares me that people like Mulciber, Avery, Malfoy, Snape are joining the Death Eaters. They're so set on helping him and they are even forcing people like Regulus into it too. Regulus is fourteen! He's in the same year as Danny, they're in classes together. Danny told me Regulus just sits there and gets on with his work, but he is incredibly smart. He just understands things, goes beyond surface meanings. But no matter how intelligent he is he isn't brave like Sirius"

"It's terrible. It's disgusting really what they're doing to him" Lily sighed "He can't stand up for himself and I think that when Sirius left Regulus was left to carry the weight of everything, all the responsibilities of being heir, to carry on the Black name. He has to prove himself to everyone. I can't help but wonder what it;s like for him, he hat to live in a house that Sirius described so vividly, it sounded horrible, Regulus will never be able to get away"

"This is depressing" Denisa muttered and took a long gulp and Lily nodded numbly

"Dee" Lily whispered after a few moments of silence "Let's go see the Marauders" Lily giggled and stood up and shimmied herself of the bed, Denisa followed behind.

Lily and Denisa stood outside the Marauders dorm and knocked on it multiple times, extremely loudly. Peter opened up the door a crack and looked out to see Lily and Denisa looking extremely happy and dishevelled "Er, hello" He said and raised his eyebrows at them

"Open up Pete" Denisa smiled as Peter opened the door and she walked in with Lily following.

Sirius was lounging on his bed talking to James while Remus was scribbling something on parchment, they hadn't noticed that two drunk girls were in their dorm

"Hello!" Lily shouted while Denisa giggled, the boys heads snapped up and stared at them incredulously

"Lily, that was too loud" Denisa whispered, she patted Lily on the back lightly

"Oh, sorry" Lily said bashfully and she clapped a hand to her mouth and was overcome by giggles

The boys were watching them curiously, Remus finally understood and chuckled "Are you two drunk?"

"Pfshf, as if! Remus how could you accuse us like that!" Denisa said and looked around the room, lots of clothes were thrown on the floor and random broken quills and ripped pieces of parchment. "You guys are messy" Denisa giggled again

"You two are drunk!" James said pointing to the empty Firewhiskey bottle in Lily's hand then at Denisa's bottle which had a bit left

"How could you not have shared with us? You know we would have shared with you" Sirius said, mock outraged

"As if you guys don't have a stash somewhere in this very room" Lily challenged

"Touché" Sirius smirked

"So what brings you two here?" Remus asked

"We were getting depressed about Voldemort and the fact that he or his Dung Eaters are going to eat us... wait. That isn't right... They're not going to eat us, they're going to kill us" Denisa said then pondered this and added "Maybe a _really_ sick one _will_ eat us but it's not very likely, I hope

"Why were you talking about Voldemort?" Sirius asked as James guided a swaying Lily to sit on his bed, Remus sat on her other side and Peter sat next to Sirius

Denisa thought for a moment "I don't remember" She plopped down next to Sirius "Are you guys going to fight him?" Denisa asked as she rested her head on Sirius' shoulder, he looked very happy about this

"Of course we are" James said immediately "I for one am not just going to let him carry on killing people"

Sirius nodded in agreement "I'm going to fight too. Merlin I hope I get to put Bellatrix in Azkaban" Sirius rubbed his hands together, already imagining the look on her face as she is thrown unceremoniously into prison. "And her idiot of a husband too. Don't want to split up the couple"

Peter and Remus grinned "I don't know how much help I can be, but I want to help as much as I can" Peter said, looking a bit upset

"You'll be plenty of help" Denisa assured, her words were slightly slurred "You are the best Peter, you can give people cuddles when they're sad about Mortevold" Peter laughed

"Sirius and I want to be Aurors" James said and Sirius nodded "My dad is one and Sirius thinks it will be cool"

"Well it will be and I might even get to throw some of my crazy, blood supremisist family members into prison" Sirius said

Lily smiled "I want to be a Healer, Dee doesn't know what she wants yet. What about you Remus?" She slurred

"I'll take what I can get, no one really wants to hire a werewolf" Remus said, looking a bit angry yet his eyes showed a lot of sadness.

Denisa pointed at him and said "Shurrup Remy, anyone would be lucky to have you as an employee"

"Yeah, shurrup Remus" Lily said angrily, although her smile betrayed her

Remus pouted slightly and chuckled. Denisa yawned and snuggled, absent-mindedly, closer to Sirius, he smelt exactly like the Amortentia did. Denisa breathed it in. Lily stood up, then sat back down muttering about head rushes. When she felt okay again she stood up, slower this time.

"Come on Dee, we should go to bed. Classes tomorrow" Lily said and pulled Denisa up, they both stumbled slightly

"Night all" Denisa yawned again and waved at them. They made their way to their dorm without problem then put their beds back to normal. Denisa and Lily flopped into their beds and fell into blissful, dreamless sleeps

Lily groaned as she opened her eyes her head was pounding and she felt extremely dizzy. Next to her bed was a hangover potion, it was a dark purple and was smoking slightly, which she immediately drank in one go, hating the taste of pickled gherkins. Denisa must have left it there for her, Denisa's hangovers were never as bad as Lily's were so she would be able to get up and get the potion and leave some for Lily too.

Lily stood up and got dressed before rushing down to breakfast and sitting next to Denisa who was currently smothering her pancakes with syrup.

"Morning" Denisa muttered "Defence Against the Dark Arts first today, have to duel Remus"

"I know, Merlin. Who d'you think you will win?" Lily asked, bringing some bacon in front of her, Denisa wrinkled her nose, she hated bacon.

"Remus probably" Denisa shrugged, she honestly didn't care and really didn't want to duel Remus.

"G'Morning!" Danny said as he sat down next to his sister, giving her a soft kiss on her cheek

Denisa smiled at him "Morning Danny. How is your house taking the loss against the superior house of Gryffindor?"

Danny scowled at her "Dee, shut the hell up or I'll shove those pancakes somewhere other than your mouth"

Denisa slapped him over the head "That's disgusting Dan" Denisa scolded

Lily threw a piece of bacon at him "Danny, I'm trying to eat here"

Danny smirked at them and fixed his Ravenclaw tie "You two were drunk last night, weren't you?" He said with a knowing grin

Denisa gasped and put a hand over her heart "Danny! We would never get drunk on a school night! I am outraged that you would make such an accusation. Hang your head, boy. Hang your head in shame!"

Danny hung his head and gave a pout "Sorry, sis" He gave her a cheeky smile

"You guys are so cute!" Lily said "The perfect brother and sister!"

"You and Potter are so cute! The perfect couple!" Danny ducked as another piece of bacon was flung at him "You know a poor pig had to die for that and now you're just throwing it around" Danny shook a finger at her "Bad Lily, bad!"

"Shut up Dan" Lily said but he didn't listen as he was checking out some fellow fourth years of his, Lily and Denisa slapped him over the head "OW!"

"Merlin's beard my brother is a pervert! I wonder if they know you still sleep with a teddy bear called Rufus" Denisa grinned

Danny huffed, his green/brown eyes were sparkling "Fine then, I see I am not wanted. I will just go, shall I? Good bye!" Danny stormed off

"He's a terrible actor" Lily sighed along with Denisa who was fidgeting in her seat. "Time for DADA" Denisa groaned

Lily and Denisa took their seats, Lily next to Snape as always, no matter how much she hated it, and Denisa next to Remus. They both exchanged nervous smiles

"Right, today we are going to be watching a duel between Ms Wilson and Mr Lupin. They have both scored the highest out of everyone in the OWLs so we can assume this is going to be interesting" Professor Stanley announced, he waved his wand and all the tables were stacked at the side of the classroom and chairs were arranged into two rows. with a large space in the middle "Now Mr Lupin and Ms Wilson if you would please stand in the middle and begin"

Denisa gave Remus a shaky smile which he returned. They bowed to each other then turned around and walked before turning around again.

"3, 2, 1 begin" Stanley said

Denisa fired off a silent hex before dodging the stunner that Remus sent. Denisa ducked and sent a spell that changed direction at the last moment and moved left, and so did Remus, he was hit by the pale blue light but kept his balance and sent a scarlet curse back

_"Rictumsempra" _Remus said pointing his wand at Denisa who cast a silent_ 'Protego' _and sent an_ 'Expelliarmus' _which hit the light of the_ 'Stupefy' _that Remus shot. Denisa waved her wand and a wave of water emerged from it and engulfed Remus in a ball. Denisa then waved it again and it disappeared and she cried_ 'Expelliarmus' _which Remus narrowly avoided

"EXCELLENT MISS WILSON!" Stanley shouted over the clapping of the Gryffindors

Remus muttered_ 'Avis' _Which cause fourteen pale blue birds to emerge from his wand he then said_ 'Oppugno' _and the birds went to attack Denisa who immediately thought_ 'Protego' _and a shield charm stopped the birds. Denisa transfigured a quill that was on the floor into a button, Remus looked at her strangely and she thought_ 'Expelliarmus' _Remus' wand shot out of Remus' hand but he caught it last second and shouted_ 'Petrificus Totalus' _Denisa dodged it and smiled at Remus who smiled back, they were both having a lot of fun,_ 'Densaugeo' _Remus shouted, Denisa put up a silent shield charm again and sent of a freezing charm and then just as quickly sent the '_Furnunculus_' curse which just about missed Remus

"This is taking ages" Lily said and gasped as Denisa just barely dodged a pretty nasty looking hex

James, Sirius and Remus were clapping happily "So what?" James asked "This is interesting, man I really wouldn't want to go against Moony or Denisa"

Denisa sent a hair loss curse at Remus which hit him, his hair began falling out but he paid no attention to it and instead said_ 'Obscuro' _sending a dark blue blindfold out of his wand Denisa barely got up her_ 'Protego' _and sent a slug-vomiting charm which missed again. Denisa and Remus were both geting slightly irritated at how long this was taking. Denisa waved her wand at some of the tables and made them surround Remus in a sort of room made of tables. Denisa then muttered_ 'Tarantallegra' _at Remus' legs which were visible underneath the tables. Remus reversed the spell the tables had done to them and sent them back to the side of the classroom, he reversed the spell he had done to him and then he shouted_ 'Stupefy!' _but Denisa dodged it and hit him with an_ 'Expelliarmus' _he was sent backwards and his wand now rested in Denisa's hand. The now bald and sweaty Remus smiled at Denisa and pulled her in for a hug which she returned

"You were great Remus" She said and frowned at his shiny, bald head "And sorry for making you bald"

Remus ran a hand over his smooth head and grimaced "I bet I look terrible"

Denisa didn't contradict him

"Fifty points to Gryffindor each!" The Gryffindors cheered while the Slytherins looked at their Professor in a mutinous way "Let's have a round of applause shall we" The Slytherins crossed their arms and Stanley frowned at them "Come on now, clap along. They gave a great performance" The Slytherins sneered at him and gave a few claps before stopping and crossing their arms again. Stanley sighed defeated "Class dismissed"

"I'm going to go see Madam Pomfrey" Remus said, rubbing his shiny, bald head. Peter, Sirius and James went after him. All of them were laughing at how ridiculous Remus looked without hair.

Lily shook her head at the descending Marauders and asked "How on Earth did we ever become friends with the Marauders?"

"I honestly have no idea"


	5. Part-AnimalTeaSpiesPropose&Platform9&34

**Part-Animal, Tea, Spies, Propose and Platform 9&3/4**

Denisa huffed as she ran through the halls, she was late for Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Kettleburn loved Denisa, she was one of his favourite students but she knew that he wouldn't and didn't give her special treatment. Suddenly she walked into something quite solid and fell backwards onto the floor. She blushed, must have ran into a wall, she thought.

"You okay?" A deep voice asked, a tall, brown-haired, brown-eyed, handsome Hufflepuff was standing over her with an apologetic look on his face. Denisa blinked at his out reached hand before taking it and she was pulled up.

"I am so sorry!" Denisa blushed "I was rushing to Care of Magical Creatures, I wasn't looking where I was going"

The boy smiled at her "S'fine, really. I'm Tony" He held out his right hand, Denisa took it and shook it

"I'm Denisa. I really am sorry, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Denisa frowned, her butt hurt from the fall

Tony smirked at her, showing unnaturally straight teeth "Well, you could let me take you to Hogsmeade on Saturday"

Denisa gave a grimace on the inside but put on a fake smile "Yeah, that would be fine"

Tony's smirk became more prominent, Denisa found herself thinking that it had no comparison to Sirius' cheeky grin, "Great, I'll meet you outside the Great Hall"

Denisa's fake smile didn't leave and she nodded before walking away. Once out of ear shot she let out a very loud groan of annoyance and ran down to outside the Forbidden Forest.

"You are late Miss Wilson" Kettleburn said, he had dark grey hair, a thick black moustache that was tinted with grey, quite a large nose and had a wooden leg. His clothes had many burns and marks in them "Twenty points from Gryffindor" The Gryffindors groaned lightly while the Slytherins looked quite happy. The class had two Ravenclaws, five Hufflepuffs, six Slytherins and nine Gryffindors. "Today we will be learning about Unicorns" Denisa's smiled widely as she went to stand with Peter "I have got two foals and three adult Unicorns, now who can tell me what colour we should expect?"

Denisa's hand shot up and nearly hit Peter in the face "Miss Wilson?"

"Unicorn foals are a golden colour until they are about two years old, that is when they become a silver colour. When they are fall grown at seven they will become a pure white colour and their hoofs will remain golden" Denisa answered

"Five points to Gryffindor" Kettleburn said "Boys, I ask that you only approach the foals because they are more trusting than the full-grown Unicorns, which aren't very trusting towards boys. I honestly don't want anyone hurt so do listen to this advise. I remember Lucius Malfoy, never really paid attention and approached the Unicorn I was showing the class, the Unicorn attacked him and he was sent to the hospital wing. Of course nothing happened to the Unicorn because no one wants to have to kill something so pure... So you better watch out boys, stick to the foals"

Peter stored this information in his head to tell Sirius who loved funny information on his cousin-in-law. Peter waved his wand at Kettleburn who grew out a large, white unicorn horn and a white tail, he didn't notice. Denisa laughed silently and smiled at Peter.

The class went by in a blur and fortunately none of the boys were hurt. Denisa and Peter walked into the Transfiguration classroom and took their seats, Denisa next to Lily at the front of the class and Peter with the Marauders at the back of the class.

"Hey" Denisa whispered as Lily greeted her.

McGonagall stood up at the front of the class and turned her back to write something on the blackboard. Suddenly she sprouted large cat ears and a tail. Lily stared at the tail as it waggled about, McGonagall hadn't even noticed. Lily whipped around to look at the Marauders, knowing immediately they were to blame for this. She gasped in shock when she saw that Remus was the one with his wand out, she shook her head. Of course he was capable of this, he was a Marauder after all and just because he was studious it didn't mean he was as big of a mischief-maker as the other three. Denisa let out a laugh which she turned into a cough just in time.

The rest of the class was smiling and none of them looked like they were willing to tell her. Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing as McGonagall turned around to see the whole class smiling up at her. She seemed to shrug it off and told them to copy what was written on the board.

The class was silent except for the scratching of quills, slight ruffle of parchment and the occasional snicker. People were turning around to grin at each other. McGonagall's black tail swished about as she walked around the class, peering down at the work of the class.

As they stumbled out of the class Lily, Denisa and the Marauders burst out laughing "How did she not notice?" Lily asked

Remus smirked, a true Marauder smirk "None of the teachers except Dumbledore will be able to see it. We're going to do the same to all the teachers, of course they will all have different animal features and at Dinner we will remove the spell that prevents them from seeing their new bodily additions"

"I wonder if we can do Dumbledore too..." Sirius trailed off thinking hard

James shrugged "I dunno Pads" Denisa choked at the name

"Pads?" Denisa asked innocently "You call Sirius Pads?" Lily bit her lip so hard she was scared she might pierce her teeth through it

James frowned slightly as his face took up a confused expression, Remus and Sirius were discussing the possibility of pranking Dumbledore "What's wrong with Pads?"

"Oh, nothing. Pads is a very good nickname for Sirius, he has always absorbent" Lily answered airily

"I think you mean observant" James said with a frown

"No I didn't" Lily said with a small smirk

"And you're always comfortable with Pads" Denisa added pretending not to hear James "Yes, very absorbent and comfortable"

James didn't seem to understand what they were getting at "Urm... Okay" Denisa smiled at him and Lily put on an innocent look.

They all sat down in Potions and Slughorn announced they were going to make Elixir to Induce Euphoria. Sirius grinned at James who pulled out his 11 inch Mahogany wand and pointed it at Slughorn, he was writing the instructions on the board, he sprouted pink pigs ears and a very curly tail which even had a blue bow on it, the bow matched Slughorns dark blue robes.

They all got up and went to get the ingredients and when they returned they set to work. James and Sirius were on the second row, Snape was in front of the desk next to them. Lily and Denisa were working on the table next to him and Remus and Peter were right behind James and Sirius. Sirius was the best at Potions out of the Marauders so he immediately started working on his potion while James started on his own, Remus was never really very good at potions and excelled more in the other classes such as Defence Against the Dark Arts and Ancient Runes, James was a Transfiguration whiz and a Quidditch star, Peter was quite good at Herbology and Divination surprisingly. Snape smiled slightly at his potion that was a bright yellow.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at James then glanced at his brown bag which held some Filibuster Fireworks. James grinned and slowly pulled one out, not wanting to seem suspicious. Sirius winked at Denisa and Lily as he walked past and into the potions supply room. James went and stood in the middle of Denisa and Lily, looking down into their potion which, like Snapes, was a bright yellow. He began to make idle chit-chat as he slowly tapped the Firework with his wand, it flew into Snapes cauldron so fast that no one even saw, most were to engrossed in their potions. It exploded and Snape let out a loud, very feminine shriek and accidentally swallowed a lot of potion that was flying through the air. His expression became quite dazed, a large, unnerving smile was on his face as he smiled at everyone.

"M'boy! What happened?" Slughorn seemed to be trying not to laugh. He turned to the class, his pigs ears were flapping slightly "Who is responsible for this?"

"It was probably Potter" Snape said in a very happy, airy voice "The baboon is a git who struts around the school like he owns it, picking on me for no reason"

Slughorn stared at James, who had put on a completely angelic and innocent expressions smile "Was it you James?" Slughorn asked

James smiled "Of course not Professor. I was with Lily and Denisa, inspecting Lily's potion. Lily is very gifted at potions and I wanted to make sure mine was right"

Slughorn's gaze didn't shift from him "Is this true Ms Evans?"

James gasped and place a hand over his heart "Sir! I am offended that you do not trust me"

Snape's happy voice cried "He's lying! Or covering for Black!"

Slughorn sighed "Where is Mr Black?" He sounded exasperated

Sirius emerged from the storage room, he had some ingredients in his arms. A sprig of peppermint was at the top of the pile "Hell Professor. I thought I heard you say my name. May I ask what the context of the use was?"

"Did you throw a Filibuster Firework into Mister Snape's potion?"

"As much as I would have liked to have done that Professor, I was actually getting some ingredients for the potion for James and I" Sirius said, raising his arms so Slughorn could clearly see them "I wouldn't have been able to do it"

Slughorn shrugged and hung his head slightly "Come along Mister Snape, let's get you a remedy for that potion" He put a large, fat hand on Snape's shoulder and guided him to his office.

Lily and Denisa collapsed on the benches in the Great Hall and piled food on their plate, both incredibly hungry. Tony walked past and winked and smirked at Denisa, who decided she really hated his ugly smirk. Denisa put on her fake smile again when really she just wanted to throw up in a bucket then preferably throw said bucked of sick in his face.

"Siri-bear!" A loud, shriek voice cooed "Aw, I have missed you!" Precious was planting sloppy, wet kisses all over Sirius' face, he looked ready to hit her.

"You saw me at breakfast" Sirius said, his lip curled slightly and there was a hint of hate and disgust in his voice

Precious simpered "I know, but. Well. How can I not miss my boyfriend? Any time away from you is torture" Denisa felt something stir inside her at the word 'Boyfriend'

Sirius smiled wryly and walked away before plopping down next to Denisa. who gave no notice of him as she turned to Lily "Lils, can you help me pick out an outfit for Saturday? I've got a date" She said. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter immediately turned towards her

"Who is it?" Peter asked

"When did he ask you?" Remus demanded

"Has he cheated before?" Was James' question

"What house?"

"Which year is he in?"

"Where will he take you?"

"How long has it been since he dated?"

"What is his name?"

"If he hurts you, in any way, you will tell us. Right?"

Denisa frowned "He's called Tony and he's in Hufflepuff. I don't know where he will take me" Lily was staring at her in disbelief

"Date?" She choked "Aw. My Dwee-Dwee is gwowing up" Lily pinched Denisa's cheeks earning her a glare.

Sirius waved his wand as Professor Sinatra walked past, she now sported bunny ears and a fluffy tail. He was oddly quiet and hadn't asked a single question.

"Lily" A low voice sounded from behind them, a stocky Ravenclaw was looking down at her with a friendly smile. James' hands clenched.

"Hello Daniel" Lily greeted with a smile "What do you need?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to come to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday?" He asked, happily James gritted his teeth, Remus hit him lightly.

Lily smiled "Why not? Sure I'll go with you" She said

Daniel smiled and said "It's a date" He waved at her and walked back to the Ravenclaw table.

Denisa smirked "Aw. My Silly-Lily is gwowing up" Denisa pinched Lily's cheek. Lily scowled at her. Lily noticed that James looked very tense

"You okay Potter?" She asked, concerned. Merlin, she thought, concerned about Potter? What was the world coming to. She couldn't help but feel concerned though, he looked so upset, like a wounded puppy. She wondered if it was because of Daniel and felt a strange flutter at the thought of James being jealous because of her.

James smiled, it didn't reach his eyes "I'm fine Evans" It was a lie, he actually felt sick to his stomach. He knew Lily would never like him but he always thought that maybe, someday she would like him back. Maybe I should give up, he though morosely. However a little voice at the back of his head shouted at him _'You know that it is going to happen one day. Don't kid yourself. You know there is no one else for you, you know there wont be anyone else that can make your heart beat as quickly as she does, you know that no other woman compares to her in your eyes. You know that she is the one for you so don't you dare give up now. You are finally at a friendly stage with her and then who knows, next year could be the year for you' _

A bark-like laugh broke James out of his inner debate "No! You're joking! Lucy Malfoy got attacked by a Unicorn?!" Sirius let out another laugh "Merlin, if I ever see him again I am going to rub this into his face" Sirius pretended to wipe away tears then patted Peter on the back lightly "Thank you for telling me that Wormtail"

"Not a problem Padfoot" Peter said "I am very, very happy that old Kettleburn told me that"

Denisa and Lily stood up to go to their lessons "So... Tony" Lily said casually

Denisa grimaced as she remembered his smirk "I really don't want to go on a date with him, but I sort of literally ran into him and he asked me out and I couldn't say no because I was feeling guilty and I really hate his smirk" Denisa babbled "But hey, what about Daniel?"

Lily shrugged "He's just a friend"

They parted ways as they went to separate lessons, Denisa to Divination and Lily to Arithmancy. By the end of these lessons both Professors had fallen victim to a Marauders prank. While the Divination teacher now had butterfly wings and antennas the Arithmancy Professor now had a goat tail and horns. By Dinner every Professor in the school, except Dumbledore, had animal parts on them. Professor Stanley now had floppy dogs ears and a fluffy dogs tail, Professor Flitwick now had a beavers tail and ears. Even Hagrid now had a green, scaled dragons tail and matching wings.

James pulled out his wand "We have to do Dumbledore too" He whispered, even though he knew no teacher would hear him. He waved his wand and muttered an incantation and suddenly Dumbledore had a red and gold, feathered Phoenix tail and wings to match.

"Prongs! You just used a spell on Dumbledore" Remus whispered frantically

"We are Marauders! We do not hold back on a prank even if it means Dumbledore gets pranked too" Sirius said. Peter nodded but his eyes were wide with fear. "The worst Dumbledore will do is put us in detention and offer us a lemon drop. He loves us, he thinks we're amusing and he is always saying in times like these it is good to have something to smile about. Remember? He said it when we were in his office for tea"

"We weren't in there for tea! We were in there because we accidentally locked Filch and Professor Anton, who had left her wand in her office, in a broom closet together!" Remus said scathingly

"But, why did we have tea?" Peter asked "If we were in trouble? Clearly Dumbledore wanted to invite us up there for a while and finally found an excuse"

Sirius pointed at Peter "See, Wormtail understands. Jeez Moony is the full moon near?"

Remus sighed "It's on Tuesday" He said darkly "Take of the charm that prevents the teachers from seeing" He said to James

James muttered something and the Professors were now able to see. At first none of them noticed until Flitwick let out a loud squeak and pointed at Hagrid, whose wings were flapping lightly. The Professors began looking at each other incredulously and started panicking and used any means of magic to try to rid themselves of the animal tails and whatnot. The Great Hall roared with laughter as only Professor Dumbledore seemed unaffected by everything, he raised his golden goblet up to the Marauders, his blue eyes twinkling.

Professor McGonagall stormed up to them, flanked by many other very angry teachers. The Marauders put on their innocent faces, each had one of their own. Peter would put on his childish, small smile while his eyes widened slightly. Remus would give a toothy smile at them and his eyes would look straight at them. James would give a grin and his eyes would glitter happily. Sirius would put on a completely innocent smile, one that no one could see through but his eyes would give him away since they would glint mischievously, that is when he would give the puppy eyes. When the innocent looks didn't work however they would smooth talk. If there was one thing you could say about the Marauders it was that they were very smooth talkers. Peter could make up far-fetched stories on the spot that sort of made sense, however his friends could see right through them. Remus applied logic and understanding to Peters stories and debated with the Professor. James and Sirius would attempt to charm and flirt their way out of everything, normally turning it into some sort of competition.

"Minnie! May I say that is a lovely tail, it really brings out your eyes!" James said

McGonagall scowled at him, her face becoming red and her lips becoming a tight, white line. "Detention for the four of you, one week"

"You look simply exquisite when you're angry Minnie" Sirius purred "I can not even comprehend your beauty at times. It dazzles me"

If possible McGonagall got even redder "Two weeks detention!" She barked

"Minnie, I must say that the shade of red your face is turning to really is your colour, it suits you so much" James said "I grjhsn podg rufhderham" Remus had put hand over James' mouth

"Professor, you can not just assume that we are to blame for this amazing, extraordinary prank" Remus said, a small smile on his face "You have no grounds. As the Muggle saying goes: Innocent until proven guilty"

"How would we have been able to apply a spell to every Professor in the school and Hagrid in one moment?" Peter said "We would have had no time. In lessons we were working, during lunch we were eating and during the rest of the day we were with the Giant Squid. You could ask it but I doubt you would get much of a response" James put his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing while Sirius openly chuckled.

"We know you did it" Flitwick squeaked

"There is no point in lying to us!" Anton said

"Tell the truth!" McGonagall snapped

The Marauders grinned "Yes, we did it" James said

"And we do not regret it" Remus added

"It may not have been our greatest prank" Sirius said

"But a Marauder will never stop pranking" Peter finished

"A very amusing prank, I must say" Dumbledore said as he walked towards the Marauders, his Phoenix tail was dragging on the floor "Hagrid seems to have enjoyed it" They looked over to see Hagrid observing his tail with great interest and adoration. "May I ask when the prank will wear off?"

Remus smiled at the headmaster "It should wear off right after midnight"

Dumbledore nodded and turned to the angry Professors "I will be taking the Marauders to my office to discuss punishments" The Marauders stood up

"I love tea" Remus muttered to Sirius who chuckled and said that he preferred coffee.

They reached the stone gargoyle and Dumbledore said 'Lemon Drops' clearly. The headmasters office looked the same as always, silver trinkets were spread around the room, books upon books on shelves and Fawkes the Phoenix in his normal space. It stared at Dumbledores tail in what seemed like amusement.

"I see my great-grandson is in trouble again" Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait said "Your mother is not happy with the permanent sticking charms you put on those filthy pictures"

Sirius smiled wryly "She deserves it, barmy old bat"

James, Peter and Remus sat down on some squashy red armchairs that Dumbledore conjured, he was sat behind his desk. Sirius was still standing and took hold of a silver tea set that Dumbledore had on his desk and poured them all a cup each then sat down. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling "You boys are so at home here. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not"

"Yes. We could say that your office is a third home to us" Remus said

"I must say boys, it has been nearly a week since I have seen you in here. Is something the matter?"

"Did you miss us Professor Albus?" Sirius asked

Dumbledore chuckled merrily, not seeming bothered at all by what Sirius called him "Indeed, I have gotten quite used to your presence in my office. It seems empty without you four being sent up here three times a week"

James grinned "Well then we will be sure to get into more trouble, so you do not have to go a whole week without having tea with us" James laughed slightly "We shall book you in for lets say, Thursday?" James said, pulling out a piece of parchment from his cloak pocket and a quill before scribbling something on it "I think we will do a Slytherin prank for our tea party"

"So how have you been Professor Albus?" James asked "I trust you have been well?"

"Yes, very well. However I did have a slight cough a few days ago, Madam Pomfrey fixed me up straight away though so it was fine. Remarkable woman"

"Poppy is very remarkable. Lovely woman" Sirius said and took a sip of his tea, his pinky sticking out

"Now. Lets discuss the prank" Dumbledore said before taking hold of a silver ball full of yellow, wrapped sweets "Lemon drop?"

They all took one "Must we discuss these sort of things Professor Albus?" Sirius asked

"It does not do well to dwell on the past, even if it was less than half an hour ago" Remus added

"Unfortunately you boys must have a detention or I will have very angry staff members on my hands" Dumbledore said "However, I will put the four of you together. I know you work very hard as a team and if you finish early you would be able to do a little bit of planning"

The boys smirked at each other. "Who will this detention be with?" Remus asked

"Most of the teachers are very angry with you so I think a detention with Mr Filch will be better" Dumbledore said

The boys groaned lightly but were happy they would be together. "Well, I think you had better get going to the Gryffindor Common room. I should hope you do not take any detours, but if you do please make sure no Professors see you as they are highly skilled in magic"

"Goodnight Professor Albus" The Marauders said and walked out of the office leaving the old man alone to his thoughts.

Peter looked at the others "What do you think about Beanie and Flower having dates?"

Remus frowned "I don't know anything about either of them except their houses, what years they're in and their first names" He answered

"Maybe we should follow them" Peter said "Sirius and I as animagi and you and James under the Cloak..."

Sirius and James agreed "Don't want to let Flower and Beanie alone to get hurt"

James frowned "If anyone hurts Lily I'll kill them" The others shrugged, they were used to this.

Denisa frowned as she pulled on her black, knee-length skirt. She then put on a white t-shirt that said '_THE BEATLES_' on it in black and tucked it into her skirt. She pulled on her black cloak and took her purse and put it into her pocket before tying her waist length, brown hair into a high pony tail. She didn't put on any make up, she never did. Lily had put on a white shirt with a green cardigan over it and blue bell bottomed jeans. She had on a bit of mascara and lip gloss. Her dark red hair was cascading down her back in soft curls.

They met up with their dates outside the Great Hall, Tony planted a kiss on Denisa's cheek, she forced herself not to look disgusted and Daniel hugged Lily. At Hogsmeade they split up. Lily and Daniel going of to Honeydukes. Tony smirked at Denisa, it made Denisa cringe internally.

"Lets go to Madam Puddifoots" He said and pulled on her forearm, this time she couldn't conceal her disgusted look as she was pulled into a tea shop adorned with pink decorations and snogging couples. James and Remus laughed at her face from under the Cloak. Tony and Denisa sat at a table and Madam Puddifoot was at their table immediately

"What can I get you sweetie?" She asked

Denisa opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Tony "She'll have an Earl Grey while I will have a green tea and a chocolate chip cookie" Denisa looked furious

"You realise that I do know how to order by myself don't you?" Denisa spat

Tony shrugged, the smirk had not left yet "I know you haven't been here before so I thought I would help you" Denisa couldn't even be bothered to reply.

Denisa stared at her Earl Grey and mixed it around in the cup "Do you like Quidditch?" Denisa asked

Tony laughed slightly, it was a cold laugh "Are you really going to try to talk to me about Quidditch?" He asked she stared at him oddly "Quidditch is a man sport, it should only be played by men. Girls shouldn't play Quidditch"

Denisa wanted to slap him but held her cool "So I'm guessing you don't play then" He stared at her blankly, he didn't seem to understand. In a hole in the corner of the tea shop a little brown rat let out an amused squeak.

"I'm going to play next year as a Beater" He said confidently, his annoying smirk was back

"Sirius is going to try out for Beater next year too" She smiled slightly as she thought of Sirius with his charming grin and his casual elegance, his shoulder length, perfect hair, his -

"Sirius? As in Sirius Black?" Tony said cutting Denisa out of her thoughts, she nodded "How would you know?" He demanded

"Sirius told me. He's a close friend" Denisa answered and took a sip of her tea before spitting it back out onto a tissue

"You shouldn't be friends with him. He is a Black" Tony said, disgustedly

Denisa frowned "What's the problem with that?" She asked, her voice dangerously low

"The Black family are blood supremacists and Death Eaters, they are right in with You-Know-Who" He said

Denisa curled her lip "You can't even say Voldemort?" She sighed as he let out a gasp of shock "Sirius is a Gryffindor and one of my closest friends. He is nothing like his family and you are being a prejudiced arse hole" Denisa stood up "I think we are done here" She turned on her heel and left.

As she looked around for any sign of Lily she found her and Daniel in Honeydukes, laughing about something. Denisa sighed, she didn't want to interrupt. She heard a rustled behind her and turned around to find a big, black dog. Denisa smiled and began to walk towards it slowly, her hand out stretched. It approached her and smelt her hand before it sat down. Denisa began stroking its silky black fur lightly and it looked up at her with its stormy, grey eyes. Denisa smiled and knelt down next to it "You're so adorable!" She cooed

The dog let out a small bark of appreciation as she stroked behind his ears. Padfoot looked at Denisa and licked her hand again.

"Denisa!? What are you doing? Get away from that disgusting mutt, it's probably flea ridden and dangerous" Tony shouted

"No more than you" Denisa muttered, the dog looked like it was grinning. Denisa carried on stroking it.

James and Remus watched from underneath the Cloak before shaking their heads and leaving to go find Lily and Daniel.

"Denisa, I mean it! Get away from that horrible dog" Tony sneered

Padfoot didn't seem affected by the words as Denisa kept on stroking him. Suddenly Denisa was roughly yanked away from Padfoot, she shrieked in pain as she was dragged away on the hard, gravely ground. Padfoot stared at Tony and growled. Tony removed his hands from Denisa immediately and stared at the dog, it's eyes were watching his every movement. Denisa stood back up and walked over to Padfoot slowly, it had not taken its eyes off of Tony. Denisa stroked its back and it relaxed slightly still staring at Tony who looked absolutely livid.

"I told you it was dangerous! Denisa! C'mon!" Tony said and began walking to Denisa again but was stopped by Padfoot who let out a very low, menacing growl.

"It only seems dangerous when you're near, so maybe you should leave" Denisa suggested and looked down at her knees, they were scraped and bloody from when Tony pulled her and so were her palms. Her upper arm was in pain from the strength of when he grabbed her. It was probably a bruise. Tony huffed but didn't leave.

"When I tell you to do something you better do it you ungrateful bitch!" Tony sneered, the dog, as if it had understood every word, pounced at him, Tony shrieked and Denisa stood up and ran to pull Padfoot off of him. The dog seemed to relax at her touch and she pulled it back easily.

"He's not worth it" Denisa whispered and walked away, the dog trailing behind her. She found Lily alone "Where's Daniel?"

Lily smiled "He left with his boyfriend" Denisa stared at her

"Daniel is gay? I thought you two were on a date!" Denisa pointed an accusing finger at Lily

"Where'd you get this cutie?" Lily cooed as she knelt down to stroke Padfoot around the ears, his tail was wagging about

Denisa smiled down at him "He's adorable, isn't he? He reminds me of someone though..." Denisa trailed off looking at Padfoot "I think he's a stray"

Lily nodded and stood up "I think so too, but his fur is so clean... Where's Tony?" Padfoot growled slightly and Denisa told Lily everything that had happened in the Tea shop and outside of it.

"I am going to kill him! Hurt me, that's fine but hurt my best friend and be prepared to be in a world of pain!" Lily growled and began to leave, Padfoot discreetly walked away, Denisa took hold of Lily's arm lightly and shook her head

"He is not worth it" Denisa said, Lily sighed knowing that Denisa was probably right

"Fine but we are getting some form of payback! Lets play a prank on him!" Lily said happily

Denisa smiled "Fine..." And the two began discussing ideas when they finally agreed on one. "Excellent" Denisa laughed "Absolutely excellent!" Lily agreed.

Monday morning rolled up and Lily and Denisa were excited to play their prank on Tony. Denisa and Lily sat down in the Great Hall and waited for him to come in, Lily had her 10 and a 1/4 inch Willow wand in her hand and Denisa had her 10 and a 1/2 Rosewood wand in hers. They had them under the table ready to fire of the perfect spell. Tony finally came in, his friends walking behind him, Denisa and Lily both began to say incantations while facing each other, their wands were facing Tony, so it looked like they were having a conversation. Tony's hair grew out until it stopped mid-waist, his face now had make-up all over it, his robes were neon pink and had 'Sexist Pig' written on the back. His feet were squeezed into five-inch heels and he was now wearing an incredibly short skirt showing off his fat, hairy legs and with one final incantation he had stood up on top of the Hufflepuff table and broke out into the song

"At first I was afraid, I was petrified, Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side, But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong And I grew strong And I learned how to get along and so you're back from outer space I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face I should have changed that stupid lock I should have made you leave your key If I had known for just one second you'd be back to bother me" He sang in a very off-key voice "Go on now go walk out the door just turn around now 'cause you're not welcome any more weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye Did you think I'd crumble Did you think I'd lay down and die Oh no, not I. I will survive Oh as long as I know how to love I know I will stay alive I've got all my life to live I've got all my love to give and I'll survive I will survive (hey-hey)"

Lily and Denisa were laughing so hard tears were streaming down their cheeks and onto the table. Professor Flitwick managed to stop the singing but couldn't seem to change him back to normal

"Absolutely disgusting behaviour!" McGonagall shouted at the Marauders, Denisa and Lily exchanged looks "Detention! Three weeks!"

"Professor it wasn't us!" Sirius was insisting

"We had nothing to do with this" James said

"Who else would it be!?" McGonagall asked "It is always you!"

Remus sighed "Professor you can't just accuse us!"

Lily stood up and Denisa followed "Professor McGonagall, it was me" Lily said, in a surprisingly clear voice since she was terrified

"And me" Denisa added

McGongall looked shocked "Wh- Why?"

Denisa sighed and explained what had happened at Hogsmeade "He was just so rude and sexist and I do not regret it for one second"

McGonagall nodded "Detention Ms Wilson and you too Ms Evans, one week" She then turned to the Marauders and uttered words that shocked everyone "I am sorry boys, I was wrong" She looked pained

Sirius fell off of the bench, James spat out pumpkin juice from his mouth, Remus dropped his goblet and Peter choked on a piece of toast.

McGonagall nodded stiffly and left the Great Hall. The Marauders stared at the spot where Minerva McGonagall admitted that she was wrong and apologised to the Marauders in awe.

During Transfiguration that day they just stared at he in wonder and shock. Scrutinizing every little movement she made, listening to her voice. It was quite unnerving to watch the Marauders be so observant. Everyone, even the Slytherins, hoped that they returned to normal by the end of the day.

"How are you feeling Moony?" James asked as he sat down next to Remus on the sofa

Remus looked at him, he was looking very tired, deep purple bags were hanging underneath his eyes which were drooping. His clothes seemed to be engulfing him, he hadn't eaten anything all day since it all made him feel sick. In an hour the full moon would be rising and he would be becoming a werewolf.

"I feel like absolute crap, Prongs" Remus muttered

Sirius sat down on Remus' other side "Sorry you have to go through this Moony. You really don't deserve any of this"

Remus smiled slightly "No one deserves this Padfoot" Remus laid his head down on the back of the couch "I wouldn't even wish this on Snivellus"

"This must really suck then" Sirius said

"You have no idea" Remus muttered. Half an hour later Remus was taken to the Shrieking Shack by Madam Pomfrey and five minutes after that his three best friends joined him, turning into their animagi forms and looking after him for the whole night.

After every single full moon Remus found himself thinking that his friends were the best people he had ever met. He honestly had no idea what he would do without them, how he would live if they were taken a way from him. They were more than friends though. To him they were brothers. That was something everyone admired about the Marauders, it was that they weren't just friends or best friends. They were brothers, each willing to die in the place of another no matter which one it was. They were incredibly protective of one another, hurting one Marauder is like hurting all of them. They also had no secrets, everything was shared between them. They knew every facial expression the others had. They could tell when one of them was hungry or sad or angry or happy, they saw through each other. Neither was higher up than the others, people always thought that James and Sirius were the leaders, Remus was the brainy one and Peter was just a tag along. This couldn't be less accurate. Neither one of them was a leader. Each brought something different into the fold. Remus was incredibly smart, he was the studious one, he made them see the good in working and he was also the one you knew you could go to with a problem and just know he wouldn't laugh or judge you. James was the one who made them what they were today and he brought along the sense of belonging and loyalty. Sirius brought cheerfulness, fun and humour, he was the one who had the idea of having them be the biggest pranksters Hogwarts had ever seen. Peter brought the whole group together, he seemed to complete everything, he was always seen as an outsider by others but the Marauders brought him under their wing and made him grow into a happier person who completed the group. There was one thing they all brought though, and that was a sense of mischief and trouble.

As the months passed the war got darker and darker. Both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds were falling under Voldemorts shadow. There were more attacks and uses of Unforgivable curses. Lots more people were joining the Death Eaters, some agreed with Voldemort about blood purity but most were scared. The Daily Prophet no longer put attacks on the front page, it wasn't anything new. Attacks were becoming almost daily things. Bartimius Crouch, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was allowing Aurors to use the Unforgivable curses on suspected Death Eaters, he seemed to believe that they should fight fire with fire. People were being put on Imperious Curse and forced to kill their families and friends. It was a terrifying time in the Wizarding World.

Denisa and Lily sat down in front of the lake on a lovely Saturday in May, they put their legs in the cold, refreshing water and watched the Giant Squid play about on the water surface.

"Denisa! Lily!" Said girls turned around to find Alice and Mary running towards them, both were smiling widely

"Hey, Alice. Mary!" Denisa smiled as they plopped down on the grass "What's up?"

Alice brushed her fringe out of her face with her left hand, something glittered in the sun and Denisa's eyes widened "Alice! Did Frank propose!?" Denisa said in a high-pitched voice, pulling Alice's hand towards her and sure enough a diamond ring was sitting on her fourth finger. It was a silver band with a square, quite large diamond.

"Merlin's beard, Alice! Frank really went all out" Lily said inspecting the ring "So how did he propose?"

Alice sighed dreamily "It was last night, our third anniversary and he took me out before sunset onto that tree next to the lake" She pointed at the tree that the Marauders were currently sitting under "There was a blanket and picnic basket. We ate and drank some wine and watched the sun set. He then tells me how much he loves me and that he would always love me. He told me that I made him happier that anything, that every time I walked in the room it lit up the whole place. Then he got on his knee and pulled out the ring and said 'Alice, will you marry me?' and I started crying and whispered 'Yes' he put the ring on my finger and now we're engaged!" Alice's face was shining with happiness and her eyes were glistening with tears

Denisa squealed slightly "I am so happy for you! You deserve this Alice, he makes you so happy!"

Lily looked at the ring then at Alice's beaming face and smiled "I hope you both have a long and happy life together" Lily said

Alice suddenly pulled the three of them in a tight hug "Mary is my maid of honour, will you two be my bridesmaids?"

Lily stared at her incredulously "Do you even have to ask?"

"Of course we will be!" Denisa added, she then looked incredibly sad "I don't want you guys to leave..." She whined

Mary smiled sadly "Me neither, Hogwarts is our second home... We've been coming here for seven years and now we're going to be tossed out onto the battlefield that is life, not to mention the war that we're currently in" She shook her head "But lets not think about that"

The four girls spent the rest of the day basking in the sun light and talking about the upcoming wedding.

Denisa untied the Daily Prophet from the owl and turned the pages until she found the recent attacks, two muggle families killed including a child of two months old, disappearances in the Ministry, a seven-year old girl was imperioused and killed her parents and tortured her little brother. The list was endless. She handed the newspaper to Lily wordlessly and pushed her food away from her, she couldn't eat.

Lily sniffed "Absolutely despicable" She whispered and turned to Denisa "What if He finds my parents?"

Denisa stared at her, unable to speak. "Evans are you okay?" James asked as he sat down next to her, she had tears streaming down her face. "C'mere" He said and put his arms around her and let her sob into his chest. He rubbed her dark red hair soothingly. Lily relaxed into the hug, James was warm and toasty, he also smelt excellent like broomsticks, fresh grass and freshly baked chocolate cake. There was also something else, she didn't know what it was but it smelt amazing. She breathed it in and felt slightly better, James Potter had made her feel better.

Denisa smiled slightly at them though her eyes were still blank. Sirius watched her, concerned from where he was sitting across from her. 'Are you okay?' he mouthed, Denisa smiled at him and nodded.

Lily slowly pulled away from the hug and wiped her eyes and smiled "Thanks Potter"

"No problem, Evans" James smiled at her before turning to Sirius "By the way Padfoot, Mum said we're going to have to spend a week at Aunt Susan's" His smile was gone and in its place was a look of disgust

Sirius stared at James, trying to decipher whether or not he was joking "Is that a joke?" He asked hopefully

James shook his head sadly "'fraid not Padfoot"

Sirius sighed heavily "Is there nowhere else?"

James shook his head "Who is going to take two of Hogwarts' biggest trouble makers into their home?"

"What are you two on about?" Lily asked

"Our parents are going to Spain for a second honeymoon and we have to stay with our Mum's friend who forces us to call her Aunt Susan" He shuddered "We have to stay with her for a week because our parents don't trust us"

"You guys could stay at mine if you want" Denisa said as she swallowed some toast

The two boys looked at her with wide eyes and happiness "Are you sure?" James asked

Denisa shrugged, "Lily is staying for two weeks anyway and my house has plenty of space. My grandpa doesn't mind guests since he's normally with Slinky for most of the year"

James stood up quickly "I have to write to my mum" He then rushed out of the Hall. Sirius took a deep breath and looked at Denisa "You are a life saver"

Denisa shrugged again, "You guys could come visit too" She said to Remus and Peter

Peter smiled sadly "My mum is making me go to France to visit her sister"

Remus sighed "I would but there is a full moon during the summer holidays"

Denisa frowned "So what? There is a forest you could transform in, my great-grandparents' old house is deep in there, it only has some old furniture"

"I don't want to be a bother" Remus said

"Remus, you will not be a bother! Just accept the invitation and come up with some plans for what we should do!" Lily said

"Hello my dearest sibling" Danny said as he planted a sloppy kiss on Denisa who rubbed her cheek

"That is disgusting" She muttered and smiled at Danny "We are going to have four guests for a week"

Danny raised an eyebrow "Lily and... who else?"

"James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin" Denisa said

Danny nodded "That's cool, I probably will not see you much since I'll be out most of the day" Danny picked up the newspaper and flicked through before landing on a page and scowling "That is revolting" He showed the paper to the others, a short, toad-faced woman was smiling at the camera

**DOLORES UMBRIDGE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST WEREWOLVES:**

Dolores Umbridge, a woman who is quickly moving higher and higher up

in the Ministry of Magic has told the public her views on Lycanthropes:

"_I honestly do not know how they are even allowed to live amongst us_

_humans. They are dangerous half-breeds and should be taken far away_

_from here. I do not think they should be killed, too much nasty business. No_

_they should just be put away to live all together and far away from us_" She

said when questioned "_Those disgusting half-breeds come in and try to_

_take jobs from hard-working humans like you and I, who gives them the right_

_to do that? Honestly, if it were up to me I would make sure they could never_

_get a job. Why should they? Surely they have other things to do, like trying to_

_eat little children. Werewolves like Fenrir Grayback are a black hole on our perfect_

_world. They need to be stopped before they take over our lovely, magical society_

_and make it dangerous and frightening_"

Has Dolores Umbridge have the right idea?

By Glenda White

Danny rested his chin on his hand "It's absolutely terrible, isn't it. The prejudice attitudes we are surrounded by..."

Sirius nodded "'_Take over every thing_' What is she on about? She is making this stuff up!" He said angrily

Remus was silent.

Soon enough it was the End of Year Feast. The hall was adorned with Gryffindor banners, they had won the House Cup again, despite all the points the Marauders lost. Alice was sitting with Mary and Frank; His arms were wrapped around her waist and they looked incredibly happy. The Marauders were sat at the end of the table alone. They were discussing things in whispers.

Dumbledore stood up and all taking ceased immediately "Another year has come to pass. Gryffindor has won the house cup with 726 points, Ravenclaw is second with 619, Hufflepuff is third with 614 and Slytherin has come last with 589 points" There were loud cheers from the Gryffindor table "The summer is about to begin and I ask that everyone is careful. These are dark times. I am afraid to announce that our Defence Against the Darks Arts teacher, Professor Stanley is going to be leaving and wont be returning next year." Lily and Denisa exchanged confused looks, this was their sixth teacher "Our Seventh years will be leaving as of tomorrow they wont be coming back, so please join me in a round of applause" The hall exploded with claps but everyone fell silent when something exploded overhead, in fireworks of different colours was written 'GOODBYE GRYFFINDOR, HUFFLEPUFF AND RAVENCLAW SEVENTH YEARS, ESPECIALLY KEITH, DIRK, FRANK, ALICE AND MARY! FROM THE MARAUDERS' then with smaller writing 'Lets hope for less Slytherins next year'

Dumbledore chuckled lightly "Thank you very much, Messrs Lupin, Pettigrew, Black and Potter" He shook his head amused "Now without further ado" He clapped his hands and the golden plates filled with all types of food. When everyone was full they retreated to their common rooms.

Lily, Denisa, Mary and Alice sat in front of the fire, each of them were crying "I- It's just going to be s- so different without seeing you everyday" Denisa cried into Mary's shoulder

"Wha- what if we need to talk to you urgently? What will we do then?" Lily asked with a wet sniff

Alice sobbed "I don't know! I don't want to go!" She looked around the room memorizing every single little detail "I'll hide!"

Mary nodded "We can hide somewhere and they'll never be able to make us leave and when we die we will come back as ghosts so we wont leave even in the after life. I'm sure Alice can convince Frank to marry her here and I can have a ghost marriage with Nearly Headless Nick" She grabbed onto the sofa tightly "They can never make me leave!" She buried her wet face into the sofa rest of the night was spent crying, shouting and planning ways to stay in the school.

The Marauders stepped off of the Hogwarts Express, immediately seeking out their parents.

"Sirius, James! Over here!" A man with black and incredibly messy hair which was flecked with grey was waving at them. He had dark blue eyes and small wrinkles over his face and midnight blue dress robes. This was Charlus Potter and he was standing with his wife Dorea Potter, she was shorter than Charlus; she only reached his shoulders. She had warm hazel eyes like James', she also gave off this comforting aura. She had dark brown hair, almost black, which had lots of grey strands. She gushed over Sirius and James as she pulled them both into a hug, their heads banging into each other. They were both a lot taller than her, it was the image of a perfect little family. Charlus pulled them into a hug afterwards and then did the same to Remus and Peter.

"Hey, mum, dad" Sirius said, grinning at them. They had insisted that he call them that

"Nice to see you Mr and Mrs Potter" Remus and Peter said

Dorea shook her head "Honestly boys, I have told you to call me Dorea" She said exasperatedly then turned to her sons "I got your letter, and if you're sure they will take you then of course you can go!" The boys exchanged looks of relief "But" They immediately drooped "I want to meet them, I want to know who I'm giving my sons to"

Peter muttered a good-bye as he rushed off to his mother, a sallow skinned, mouse like woman with watery blue eyes like her sons. Remus also spotted his parents, his father Lyall and mother Hope. His father had dark brown hair and a thin frame, his facial structure, lips and nose were identical to Remus', his mother had sandy brown hair, she was slender, very pretty and greeted her son with a tight hug.

Denisa ran to hug her grandfather then Slinky, who was dressed in a very big pink t-shirt which she wore as a dress. Lily followed as her parents hadn't arrived yet, no doubt Petunia was delaying them with annoying wedding plans. Lily hugged Grandpa Wilson next while Denisa hugged Slinky. They caught up with each other as they waited for Danny to arrive.

"Mr Wilson?" Dorea said as she walked up to him, her husband and sons were play fighting behind her. She sighed slightly at her boys.

Grandpa Wilson smiled at her "Call me Thomas" He said

Dorea smiled "Thomas, I want to thank you for taking in my sons for a week. This is also a chance for you to change your mind, they are - urm - they are very big on pranking" She said

Grandpa Wilson shook his head "No worries about that! It would be good to have some company, I've been alone with Slinky most of the year" He said, gesturing to Slinky who smiled up at Dorea

"Charlus" Dorea said "Come say hello to Thomas" Charlus stopped jabbing at James and turned towards Grandpa Wilson and shook his hand "You too boys"

Sirius smiled at Grandpa Wilson "Thank you very much for agreeing to take us into your home instead of letting us rot at Aunt Susan's" Dorea scowled while Grandpa Wilson laughed heartily

James nodded "She has so many cats!" He said and shook Grandpa Wilsons hand.

Grandpa Wilson looked at Lily, Denisa and Danny who had just joined them "Introduce yourselves"

Danny stuck out his hand "Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Potter. I'm Danny Wilson" He said they shook hands and Danny turned to hug Slinky when he was done, immediately complimenting her outfit.

Denisa smiled at them and did the same thing "Ah, Sirius has mentioned you, dear" Dorea said pulling Denisa into a hug which she returned slightly stiffly, Dorea was a surprisingly warm person.

Sirius blushed slightly and smiled awkwardly at Denisa and her brain immediately and annoyingly decided that he looked really cute when he blushed

Lily stuck her hand out to Charlus "I'm Lily Evans, Mr Potter. Nice to meet you"

Charlus' face lightened up as he grinned "Lily Evans? Yes, I have heard so, so, so, so, so, so much about _you_, Miss Evans. Ah, my James talks about you so often, really he talks about you too much. 'Evans did this' and 'Evans said that' He mentioned the name Evans so much I thought he was talking about a bloke at first. Merlin when he finally explained I was quite shocked. But really he talks about you too much. Quite annoying really" He was muttering slightly and Lily had gone as red as her hair "But it is so good to finally meet you! I feel like I know you already"

Denisa bit her lip from laughing at the redness of Lily and James' faces, Sirius obviously not having the same problem let out a large, boisterous, bark like laugh. Denisa hit him lightly on the arm "Sirius, shh. You know James will kill you"

Sirius grinned at her "Let him, this is way to funny. At least I'd die laughing"

Denisa shook her head at him and grinned back. He suddenly reached out and pulled out her hair band before stretching it until it snapped. Denisa stared at it, her mouth opened slightly in shock "Why...?" She stared at him blankly

Sirius shrugged and smiled at her "Your hair looks nice down" He started playing with a few strands "It's so long and brown like chocolate. It looks pretty down too. Why have it up?"

Denisa blushed "You could have just told me to put it down instead of snapping my hair band"

Sirius grinned "It was more dramatic"

"Lily!" Lily's mother, Iris Evans called. She was slim with dark red hair, her features were sharp and she had pale eyes. She was very pretty but it was clear that the only thing Lily inherited from her was the hair and figure, excluding the long neck. Behind her was a man with blonde hair and dazzling almond-shaped green eyes. They all introduced themselves, they hugged Denisa and Danny and made small conversation with Grandpa Wilson

"Potter? James Potter?" Patrick Evans said when James introduced himself "You're the one that Snape boy was always complaining about?" He looked confused "I don't know why, you are a lot more politer than him" He laughed "But I must say my Flower has complained about you too, called you a toe-rag... I honestly have no idea what that is. She has also told me about the pranks you have played, God I would have liked to have seen those. They sound very amusing"

James grinned "They were"

Patrick smiled and pointed a finger at James "I like you" He nodded "Well, we had best be off. Petunia will go spare if we are late home" He sighed heavily "I hate the wedding planning" He grumbled "So much pink" He looked pained "Come on Lily, thank God you are here!" They heard him say as he walked off, one arm around his daughter and one around his wife "Tuney will want you out of the house so we can go to the cinema or something!"

"Regulus! I do not care if He is your brother! You will not go say goodbye to him, He had been is a dirty blood-traitor why dirty yourself with Him. He is not part of our family and you would do good to remember that!" A cold voice said. Sirius turned around so fast his neck clicked.

Walburga Black, a woman with black curled hair, cold blue eyes, high cheek bones and amazing bone structure stood next to her husband and second cousin Orion Black, he too had black hair, his eyes were grey like Sirius' except while Sirius' held warmth Orion's were cold and hard. The two of them were dressed in green velvet robes with silver embroidery. Regulus stood in the middle of them, casting sad looks towards his brother. Walburga grasped his shoulder and they disappeared with a CRACK! Orion following behind. Sirius frowned then felt something warm slide into his hand, he looked down and saw it was a hand. Denisa's hand, she smiled sadly at him but all he could think was how well their hands fit together.

"Goodbye Charlus and Dorea" Grandpa Wison said kindly "Sirius, James I will see you two in three weeks" They said their farewells and Sirius grudgingly let go of Denisa's warm hand.


	6. Summer of 1977

**Summer**

Lily sat at her desk, her bedroom was a light purple colour, she had a pine double bed with a matching dresser that had many photos on top of it, wardrobe and desk. She scratched her pencil against the parchment, curving lines perfectly. She was drawing. She had been doing it often since school finished a week ago. Her desk had several pictures of Hippogriffs, Hogwarts, Mrs Norris, the Giant Squid and even Professor Dumbledore that she had drawn herself and then water coloured them. She carried on drawing, this time it was Denisa. Lily found herself missing her best friend. As she began drawing Denisa's eyes the doorbell rang downstairs. Lily didn't move, waiting for someone else to get it. The doorbell rang again and again and again. Lily sighed then lifted herself up from her chair and went downstairs to answer the door, hoping that it wasn't Vernon Dursley; he was Petunia's purple faced, moustached, fat, neck less fiancé however instead she found someone she had just been thinking about.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked her best friend who was stood in the doorway

"You're mother begged me to come, apparently you have been moping about the house" Denisa raised her eyebrows "Is this true?" She asked in a slightly mocking voice

Lily scoffed "No of course not. I've just been hanging around in my room avoiding Vernon and Tuney"

Lily sat down on the blue sofa in the living room, it was a spacious room with a three seater blue sofa with a matching two seater and armchair. A pine coffee table was placed in the middle with a very large stack of wedding magazines above it and a cream area rug was underneath it. The floorboards were impeccably clean. A silver T.V. was against one wall, a silver clock hung over it. A cream lamp was in the corner of the room. The walls were a pale blue colour.

"What have you been doing then?" Denisa asked as she sat down next to Lily

Lily shrugged "I have been eating, sleeping, breathing, reading, sleeping, listening to music, eating, avoiding Tuney and sleeping... Oh and eating" Lily grinned "All vital things needed for life" She nodded her head a few times as if reassuring herself

Denisa nodded "Sounds about right" A small smile formed on her face "Well at least I am here to rescue you from what you call a holiday!" She said happily

Lily's stomach grumbled and she smiled "Maybe we should eat first"

Denisa nodded staring at Lily's stomach and followed Lily into the kitchen, it was very the same colour as the living room with pine cupboards and muggle appliances everywhere. There was a tall pine table with six blue high chairs surrounding it. Lily put some pieces of bread in the toaster and pulled out some ingredients from the fridge and place them on the counter. The toast was done and the toaster snapped back out making a loud noise that caused Denisa to shriek. She took several steps back

"What is this Muggledry?" Denisa asked, watching the toaster with caution

"It makes toast" Lily answered looking at Denisa weirdly "It's safe"

"Hm, I'm not so sure..."

Petunia burst into the kitchen, her hair was perfectly curled and she was in a purple robe and pink slippers, she stared at Denisa for a moment "What are you doing here?" She asked rudely

"I am here to see your sister" Denisa replied calmly "How is the wedding planning going?" Denisa was trying to be nice but she also knew that the upcoming wedding was Petunia's favourite thing to babble about.

"Very well. I have also found the right dresses for the bridesmaids" She looked at Lily "We're going to go try them on on Thursday but you're not coming since you're not a bridesmaid, Freak"

Lily nodded stiffly "That's nice" She said sarcastically, Petunia didn't seem to register it

"I thought you aren't having the wedding until next summer?" Denisa asked

"I thought I'd start planning it earlier" Petunia said "You're coming to the wedding too, aren't you?" She asked Denisa who nodded

"I've only ever been to one wedding but that was a Magic wedding so it would be interesting to go to a Muggle one" Denisa answered, Petunia's eyes bulged

"Don't say that freakish word" She hissed

"Wedding?" Denisa said playing dumb, Lily went back to making her sandwich. She was used to Denisa winding Petunia up

"You know what word I was talking about" Petunia said through gritted teeth

Denisa smiled innocently "I honestly do not. Care to tell me so I don't say it in the future?"

Petunia ground her teeth "M- Magic"

Denisa's face lit up with fake realization as she smiled widely "Oh, I forgot you don't like magic" Petunia gasped at the word

Denisa furrowed her eyebrows "I'm sorry, it's just coming from a magic family" Another gasp "I don't know what else to call it other than magic. Would you prefer sorcery?" Petunia sneered at Denisa yet she also looked fearful. Denisa frowned suddenly serious "Petunia, I honestly do not know why in Merlin's good name you are over reacting. Magic is not something that should be frowned upon, it should be embraced" Petunia stared at her "If Lily didn't go to Hogwarts she would not have been able to control her magic. If she got angry or extremely happy her magic could have spiralled out of control, you, your parents, neighbours, anyone near her could have been hurt. You should be happy she is learning to control it"

Petunia looked thoughtful for a moment but quickly rearranged her features to show anger and hatred "Don't you dare say she is going to that- that Freak school for me!" Petunia barked

Denisa's eyes flashed and she pulled out her wand and said a quick incantation which turned Petunia's blonde hair a dark purple colour with green streaks. Petunia screeched and ran out of the Kitchen, they could hear her thundering footsteps going upstairs, both Lily and Denisa followed the noise with their heads, Petunia seemed to stop at the spot Lily knew there was a mirror and she let out a blood curdling scream and then a door slammed.

There was complete silence until Iris Evans came in laughing, she immediately hugged Denisa "I knew you were here the second I heard Pet let out that ghastly scream" She said

Denisa laughed "I liked her new hair. It looked lovely"

Iris made a noise like a restrained laugh, obviously not wanting to laugh at her daughters new hair "Will it go back?" Iris asked

Lily scoffed "Of course it will Mum" Lily said "Well... It could last a few months..." Lily put her finger to her chin in thought "Hm..."

Iris gasped "You're not serious?"

Denisa opened her mouth to say something but Lily cut her off with a glare "I'm kidding mum, it should be gone in about an hour"

Iris nodded and looked at the mess Lily and Denisa had made, peanut butter, nutella, bananas and crumbs littered the counter top, Iris sighed mournfully and she moved to clean it.

Denisa put a hand on her shoulder "It's okay, Mrs Evans. I've got this" Denisa walked in front of the table "Scourgify" She said clearly and the mess cleaned up. Denisa eyed the toaster, she had forgotten it was there, and took a large step backwards and almost knocked Lily over.

"Honestly" Lily muttered under her breath. Denisa grinned in her direction but her brown eyes were watching the toaster waiting for it to explode.

They decided to go out for ice cream seeing as Petunia and Iris had began talking about the wedding that was two weeks before the end of the summer holidays. They were going to go into the main town so they had to pass Spinners End. Lily shivered as they did and hurried her pace causing Denisa to have to hurry too as to keep up with her.

They never realised someone was watching from a fence nearby.

* * *

The Potter home was not small, actually it was a five floor manor. On the outside it was made of grey stone bricks and there were many windows. The grounds were beautiful, fresh green grass covered in places that weren't walkways. All types of beautiful, aromatic flowers were everywhere, Dorea Potter had always loved flowers and refused to let any one else tend to them. On the ground floor was there was the entrance hall, a large staircase was immediately in front of it, the banisters were wide enough to slide down and perfectly polished. The stairs were covered in a deep red carpet. On the left of the staircase was a wooden door that led to the large room the House Elves lived in. There were two House Elves in the Potter household.

On the first floor there was a large marble ball room which was used three or four times a year for Dorea Potter's extravagant parties and dances. There were large windows that started at the floor and reached up to the ceiling, these were covered with thick red curtains with golden patterns which were tied away with a rope of a deep gold colour so that light could shine though and illuminate the ball room, on the right of these windows was a glass door that led onto a balcony. On the ceiling were three chandeliers, the largest was in the middle and each of them held many small candles.

On the second floor was a kitchen, it was a clean and pristine kitchen with marble counters and a very good oven. Dorea Potter loved to bake, she would make cakes and pastries for her husband and sons and watch them as they ate them happily. Nowadays though Dorea had a lot more help from the House Elves. Next to the kitchen was the din

ing room, it had a long mahogany table that seated ten people. The Potters always ate their meals together, except when Dorea and Charlus were at work. Charlus was Head of the Aurors, Dorea was also an Auror but she only did filing work now as she wasn't that good in battle anymore. Next to the dining room was a broom closet and next to that was a bathroom. There was a room next to the bathroom that was full of mirrors showing yourself in different ways, one mirror may show you old or young, fit or fat etcetera. Francesca Potter née Dilient a Pureblood family that died out from lack of heirs, married to William Potter 1724-1803, was quite obsessed with her looks and always wanted to know what she could have looked like so she made all these identical mirrors that showed her differently. She lived from 1726-1779 she died from the grief of her sons death, Oliver Potter. William never married again as she was the love of his life."

On the third floor was a large living room. It was a elegant yet comfortable room which had cream white and beige walls. In the middle of one wall was a grey stone fireplace. On the mantle above it were many, many photographs of the Potters. In each one they were smiling. Above the fireplace was a large, wooden clock. There were many windows that lighted up the room, these were covered with pale green curtains, tied back with beige ropes. The floorboards were perfectly polished and gleamed. A cream sofa with a blue floral design stood directly across from the fireplace, it had a pale blue blanket slung over the back of it and matching blue, plump pillows. Behind it was a wooden table which held a light pink vase full of flowers Dorea had picked from the garden. On each side of the sofa was a smaller sofa which were a beige colour, the had wooden designs on the edges and front of them. In the middle was an area rug of a very light brown and cream. A leg rest was next the the largest sofa. Behind them in the large space was a grand piano which Charlus Potter frequently played, he had learned as a child. Also there were two blue armchairs and a circular table in the middle of them bearing a chess board, the Potter family like to have little contests. On the left side of the living room was a room that was filled with a swamp. Oliver Potter 1750-1779 loved to experiment with his own spells and while attempting to clean and paint the floors and walls with a simple charm he accidentally created a swamp. He died when one of his experiments back fired. His son Anthony was distraught over his death and asked that they not get rid of the swamp, Oliver's wife, Henrietta agreed.

To the right of the living room a room, like at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, bared the Potter family tree and coat of arms. The coat of arms was a scarlet colour and a dark gold griffin was on it. Over the top on a white strip like a ribbon it said 'POTTER' and under the griffin was another strip this one said 'Notre Sang Nous Lie' which was French for 'Our Blood Binds Us. A sword and wand formed a cross underneath the griffin. Portraits lined the walls with golden paint joining them. Every man in these portraits had black, untameable hair. They were quite friendly but always scolded James and Sirius for causing havoc.

Next was a office for Charlus and Dorea. This room had two large mahogany desks and comfy desk chairs. Their was a large shelf full of books and files. A large grey area rug was in the middle of both desks and a leather two seater was next to a large, green potted plant. On the right of that was a room that had mahogany shelves lining the white walls. On each of these shelves was a set of chess pieces. Matthew Potter (1797-1876) loved chess so he started the tradition that whenever a Potter was born they would receive a chess piece set. After they died all the pieces were put on the shelves with a small name plate in front of them. Sirius got a set when he joined the Potter family after he ran away.

On the fourth floor there were six guest rooms, each was almost identical with a desk, dresser, wardrobe, a four poster king size bed with many pillows and a door leading to an adjoining bathroom. The only difference between each room was that they were different colours. One beige, one a light caramel brown, one yellow, one green, one blue and one a violet colour. Next to the violet room was a room that was full of beautiful paintings of landscapes. These were painted by Aurora Potter who was a very talented painter even though she was so young when she started. She lived from 1862-1877, she was a very sickly child and when she was nine she couldn't even leave her bed. She died a few weeks her fifteenth birthday. She never went to Hogwarts as she was too ill so she spent her days either painting or with her brother Harold Potter (1870-1950) After she passed her paintings were kept in her studio, Richard Potter (1840-1910) and Iris Potter née Clarkhorn (1840-1913) couldn't bear to throw them out.

When you passed Auroras studio you came to the library, it was only a bit smaller than the one at Hogwarts ranging from all types of books on spells and enchantments, wizard folk tales and even muggle classics. The library was made by Charles Potter (1700-1784) as he loved books.

On the fifth and final floor you found Dorea and Charlus' rooom. No one knew what that one looked like. Then it was James' room which was a dark red colour with gold swirls and patterns on it. A mahogany four poster bed was against one wall, across from it was a mahogany wardrobe and dresser. A red rug was spread over the floorboards. A glass door covered with thick dark gold curtains covered it, the door led to a balcony that was adjoined to Sirius'. Another door, this one wooden, led to a bathroom that was again joined with Sirius. Sirius' room was exactly the same as James' except his furniture was on the other side of the room. Next to Sirius' room was one that held old racing brooms belonging to James' ancestors. Next to that was the Marauder room. James had begged Charlus to give him the old room and let him make it into a sort of office for the Marauders to plan their pranks in. There was a large, square table with four bean bags on each side. James' was red, Remus' was blue, Sirius' was yellow and Peter's was green. There was a shelf of books about becoming Animagi and books on pranking. On a shelf of it's own was a large, black book with the Marauder's crest on it. It was like the Hogwarts crest except that it had a Wolf where the lion was, a rat where the snake was, a dog where the badger was and a stag where the eagle was. Instead of it saying the Hogwarts motto it said 'I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good' In this book was instructions on how to make the Marauder's Map, how to become an Animagus and every single prank that the Marauders ever played with pictures. On the Marauders Map and Animagus pages there was a very complicated charm along with a hex that makes sure no one can read it unless the Marauders say so.

...

Potter manor shook suddenly, flashes of green, blue, pink, red, orange and purple lights flashed in the window then a shout was heard "JAMES CHARLUS POTTER! SIRIUS ORION BLACK! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" Dorea Potter shouted, her voice croaked slightly

James and Sirius walked quietly into the living room mouthing blames at each other. Dorea was standing next to the piano with an angry expression and her hands on her hips. She was a lot more shorter than Sirius and James but they were still extremely terrified, both remembered the time they accidentally swore in front of her and she scourgified their mouths.

"Well?" She asked with a hiss

"It was Sirius" James said at the same time that Sirius said "It was James"

Dorea raised an eyebrow "Do not make me write to Mr Wilson and tell him that you will instead be going to Aunt Susans"

Sirius' eyes widened and he fell down to her knees and took hold of her robes, James followed afterwards "Please, Mum! You can't make us go to Aunt Susan's. She is the muggle definition of a Witch!" They pleaded

Dorea stared at them as they begged her, she couldn't help but smile at her boys. They were both seventeen yet they still acted like children at times. She sighed exaggeratedly "Fine, seeing as you begged"

Both boys jumped back up and pulled her into a tight hug then ran back out the room with a 'Thanks, mum' Dorea smiled softly before she turned around and pulled a handkerchief out of her robes pocket and coughed heavily a few times. She looked at the blood on her tissue and cringed slightly before waving her wand at the handkerchief and got rid of the blood.

Sirius and James ran down the stairs to the front door. "Master Potter, Mister Black? Where are you going?" A squeaky voice said the boys, men as Sirius and James would have insisted, turned to find a female House Elf, she had electric blue eyes and large bat-like ears that curved downwards. She also had a large protruding stomach. She was a pregnant House Elf that served the Potter family called Flimpa.

"Hello, Flimpa" Sirius greeted "How is the pregnancy going?" He asked happily, he always liked the Potter's house elves, far better than the one at Grimmauld Place called Kreacher who would mutter about Sirius under his breath.

Flimpa stared at her belly "Flimpa thinks he should be arriving any day now"

James frowned "But you've only been pregnant for four months..." He said

"Master, House elves be having their little ones quicker. House elves is smaller than humans" Flimpa explained

James nodded and smiled at her "Sirius and I are going out for a bit, see you soon" He waved her off Flimpa nodded before Disapparating, probably to her room, and they left through the large doors onto Dorea's beautiful garden.

Sirius and James walked up to a wooden broom shed where the family brooms we kept. "Only two more days until we go off to the Wilson's" James said as he pulled out his broomstick and Sirius pulled out his, James jumped onto his broom and flew up a few feet, Sirius followed.  
Sirius smiled "I know mate. Two more days until you get to see Lily" He teased lightly "I bet you've been counting the days"

James scowled at him then smirked "Two more days until you get to see Denisa" He said happily

Sirius raised an eyebrow "What is that supposed to mean?" He demanded in a soft voice

James grinned as though he knew some big secret that no one else did "If you do not know I shall not tell you"

"I wouldn't need telling if I knew" Sirius shot back

James smirked again before shooting off into the air, Sirius chuckled as he forgot what they were just talking about as James had wordlessly challenged Sirius and went after him. James was going of to the small Quidditch pitch that was behind the Potter household. Sirius landed gracefully next to James who had a red Quaffle in his had that bore the Potter Crest. "How about a little game?"

Sirius scoffed "You'll win!" James shrugged at him and began throwing the Quaffle up and down and catching it "When is Moony getting here?"

"His letter said that he will be here- er..." James paused thinking "I - hm - Well it said - er -" James ran an agitated hand through his unruly hair, making it even messier, and frowned

Sirius shook his head, his hair flew around his face casually "How did you ever manage to get Os in all of your classes I will never know"

James smiled wryly "I got a T in Divination"

Sirius shrugged and grinned "So did I" He said dismissively "But I think I may drop Divination this year..."

James nodded "Yeah so will I" James' face lit up suddenly and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment "Moony's letter" He told Sirius who was watching him oddly and began reading it out loud

_**To Padfoot and Prongs** - I hope you are both okay and are still_

_going to Dee's for a week. I can't go on my own because of my 'furry_

_little problem' I really do expect you are causing your mother a few_

_more grey hairs like you have done to Minnie. Wormtail wrote to me._

_he is having an absolute rubbish time with his mother. Apparently she_

_has taken him shopping four times in one week! Merlin, I feel bad for_

_Wormtail, he is probably going mental! My holiday so far had been_

_quite uneventful. I have come up with a few ideas for the_

_Start-of-Term-Prank and I hope you guys have too. Last year we had_

_all the golden plates and goblets do a dance number and had the_

_wannabe Death Eaters join in too but this is going to be our last year_

_and we need to make sure that the Marauders are remembered when_

_we leave! I also have an idea of what to do with the map... however_

_I can not discuss anything in a letter in case it fall into the wrong_

_hands... My mum says I can come tomorrow at 2:00pm so_

_I'll see you guys soon. And don't be lazy shites, write back - **Moony**_

Sirius smiled "It's good he had started planning" He said "That's our Moony, always thinking ahead"  
"We should write back" James said, Sirius nodded "Do you have a quill, or ink... or, you know, parchment?"

Sirius looked into his pockets exaggeratedly then let out a gasp "Merlin's lacy red knickers, Prongs!" He exclaimed sarcastically "I don't have any of those on me" He put a finger to his chin and tapped it "I wonder why... I know. Maybe it's because I'm not in bloody school" He tutted at James then looked thoughtful "Come to think of it I frequently don't have those things in school either..." He grinned

James sighed and pulled out his wand and said "Accio Quill. Accio Parchment. Accio Ink" The three objects soared out of James' open window and towards him. James caught them and sat down on a stone bench by a water fountain.

_[A/N: James' will be in italics while Sirius will be normal]_

_**To Moony** - We're both fine. _Yeah, just dandy._ I can't believe Mrs._

_Pettigrew did that to Wormtail! _It's atrocious!It's good that you

have started planning the prank._ Padfoot and I have had some ideas._

_We can talk about them when you get here. We can also talk about_

_the Map. Whatever it is about the Map that you want to talk about..._

By the way Moony, we resent the comment about being lazy shites.

_I will have you know that Padfoot and I have been very active this_

_summer, we have played Quidditch, played pranks and we even did_

_the holiday homework. _But we always do the holiday homework... See

you tomorrow Moony!_ See you tomorrow at 2, Moonbeam! -_

**_Your Best, _Handsomest Friends, Padfoot_ and Prongs._**

James sealed the letter and put it into his pocket, he would give it to his owl later. James took hold of the Quaffle he had been playing with and threw it at Sirius before taking off towards the Quidditch pitch again, an angry Sirius tailing him.  
..

"MOONY!" James shouted as he jumped onto his friend who had just walked through the door. Sirius grinned and jumped on top of them, they were now a heap on the ground

"Honestly boys" Dorea scolded lightly while Charlus chuckled behind her

James stood up, fixed his glasses then ran his hand through his hair. "Mum, we missed him!" He whined in a child like manner "Can we go play now?"

Remus blushed slightly when he saw that Dorea and Charlus were there "Hello Mrs P- Dorea and Charlus" He greeted and was pulled into a hug by Dorea, who always acted like a second mother to the Marauders, especially Sirius. Charlus gave him a strong handshake.

"It's good to see you Remus, dear. I hope you are well. You are looking a bit peaky. Are you hungry? I could whip something up - No? Are you sure? - 100%? Okay then dear, but if you do get hungry do not hesitate to ask" Dorea said

Remus nodded "Thank you, Mrs- Dorea" He said with a slight blush

Dorea waved him off "No worries" Remus looked at her for a moment and noticed some changes, she was extremely pale and seemed to have lost a lot of weight in a very short time. She had heavy purple bags under her eyes and her hair was greyer than usual. She seemed extremely tired.

"Are you feeling all right?" He asked her in concerned undertone

Dorea stared at him with wide eyes before she smiled, her smile seemed to have changed it seemed forced and it also seemed to be tiring her "I am fine sweet heart" Remus could sense guilt coming from her. Remus however didn't want to get involved so he nodded and joined James and Sirius in the Marauders room.

They each sat in their bean bags, James in his red one, Sirius in his yellow one and Remus in his blue one. "So what have you got for us Moony" James said

Remus cleared his throat and began talking. With every word Sirius and James' smirks became smiles then grins and then the look in their eye became present. The look that meant they knew exactly how to get up to no good.

The next morning Charlus woke the boys up, they were all asleep on James' bed; Remus was leaning against the head board, James was across the middle of the bed and Sirius had his head a few centimetres away from James' stomach and his legs were sort of curled inwards so they wouldn't dangle of the bed, at six in the morning. Charlus decided that he would have to wake them up the hard way and conjured up a bucked before filling it up with water and then freezing area of the water so it would be extremely cold, he then raised the bucket and swung it so that all the water would pour onto the three sleeping boys. Three loud, girlish shrieks were heard straight after a splash

James wiped his eyes, his hair was still as messy as ever even though it was wet, "What the hell, dad?" He asked in a heavy voice

Sirius bleared up at Charlus' grinning face "Why?" He said desperately defeated voice and put his head back onto his wet pillow

Remus just blinked a few times before climbing out of bed and getting dressed "We're going to Dee's today guys" He said

That woke them up; Sirius immediately sprinted to the shower and James followed slamming on the door "Padfoot! Padfoot! I need to look and smell good for Evans!" He shouted as he pounded on the door, Charlus smiled and walked out of the room

Sirius began singing very loudly to block out James' shouting, it was good that he sang very well "_Mama, just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he's dead. Mama, life had just begun but now I've gone and thrown it all away. Mama ohh. Didn't mean to make you cry, if I'm not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters"_

James scowled at the bathroom door "Damn him and his good voice" He said as he laid back into bed. Remus was already dressed and was sitting at the edge of the bed.

Remus chuckled lightly "Well, at least we don't have to put up with terrible singing" He said as he shrugged his shoulders "And it's not like you have a terrible voice either" Remus said dryly

James pondered this "I guess... But that does not excuse the fact that I am going to smell when I see Evans"

Remus smiled "I guess not"

"_Too late, my time has come. Sent shivers down my spine, bodies aching all the time. Goodbye everybody I've got to go, got to leave you all behind and face the truth, Mama ohh, I don't want to die. I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all_" Sirius sang

James scowled again and went back to pound at the door "HURRY UP YOU- YOU DOG!"

Remus laughed into his fist and found his self wondering how he made such great yet idiotic friends. The shower stopped and there was a faint rustling of Sirius getting dressed and then he emerged from the bathroom, his hair was dripping slightly and he didn't seem to have even shaved since there was some scruff around his jaw. He looked elegant yet completely casual. Sirius had some dark blue jeans on, a white t-shirt and his prized black leather jacket. Remus had some lighter blue jeans and a red polo top. James emerged from the shower about ten minutes later, clean shaven and wearing black jeans and a blue t-shirt.

Sirius' stomach growled loudly "I'm hungry" He stated

Remus gave a look of fake realisation "Really?" He asked sarcastically "You're hungry? We hadn't realised, especially when your stomach growled like a freaking animal"

Sirius put his hand against his stomach and frowned "You're being mean, Moony"

Remus shook his head and pulled two of his best friends downstairs to eat. Dorea was sat next to Charlus, she looked even more pale, the bags were darker and somehow she seemed to have lost weight during the night. Remus frowned at her but, again, said nothing.

James and Sirius began eating their pancakes in a very dignified manor as they always did at home. Charlus looked sternly at the boys "Now, the Wilsons have been very kind taking you in for the week. I want you to be on your best behaviour, no pranks and be polite" He looked pointedly at James and Sirius "Remus, I trust that you will be able to keep them in line?"

Remus smiled slightly "Sir, can anyone keep James and Sirius in line? Well, other than Dorea?" He asked

Charlus grinned "Well once they find the right woman they will become respectable members of the public" He chuckled "Maybe Lily Evans will be the one to finally tame James"

James who had looked up at Lily's name choked on his pancake "What are you on about?" He demanded

Charlus ignored him "But what about Sirius?" He said to Remus with a small smile on his face "Could anyone tame him?"

"Denisa" Remus answered casually and raised his glass of pumpkin juice to his mouth and swallowed about half of it

"What are you on about?" Sirius said loudly as he seemed to have heard what they said

Dorea discreetly coughed into her handkerchief as she smiled at the boys and Charlus waved an impatient hand "Nothing" He looked at his watch and got up "Time to go boys" He announced

"How are we getting there?" James asked

"We are Apparating, you three have your licences" Charlus said "Might as well use them"

The boys said goodbye to Dorea then walked out of Potter Manor and off of the grounds. There were Anti-Appartion and Disapparation wards all over the grounds.

With a loud CRACK they Disapparated and Apparated onto a farm. Charlus looked around and smiled at the farm and then walked up to the house and knocked on the door three times. The boys were looking around with wonder.

Grandpa Wilson answered the door "Hello! Welcome, come in, come in" He said and opened the door wide enough for them to walk inside to the hall. Pictures of Denisa and Danny littered the walls. Along with Grandma Wilson, Grandpa Wilson and Slinky. There were also quite a few of Lily with the family. None however had Denisa and Danny's mother or father.

Sirius looked at a picture of Denisa and a small smile graced his lips, she looked about five and was on top of a brown Hippogriff. There was another one of her at what seemed like seven or eight and she was stroking a unicorn. Her hair was shorter and she had to reach up to touch the unicorns head.

Grandpa Wilson lead them into the living room where Denisa, Lily, Danny and Slinky were laughing loudly "So she's just waiting for an answer and I'm just staring at her as though she had grown two heads and spouted tentacles, honestly some people!" Danny chuckled and the girls laughed harder  
Grandpa Wilson grinned at the scene "The boys are here" He announced

Lily looked up and met eyes with James "You're all here!" She said and jumped up to hug Remus tightly. Charlus said something to Grandpa Wilson, who chuckled, then said goodbye to everyone and left. Denisa got up and hugged James who returned it and picked her off the ground slightly. She then let go and hugged Sirius tightly and for longer than James. He smelt as heavenly as always

Lily turned and gave James a quick hug then smiled at the boys "So, what do you guys want to do today?" Lily asked excitedly

"Lily, shouldn't we at least show them their room first?" Denisa said

Lily shrugged "I guess" She turned to them "Follow us" She walked up the wooden stairs where there as a hallway at the top with four doors, she pointed to the one on the far left "That is Grandpa Wilson's bedroom, the next one if Danny's bedroom, then it's Denisa's room" She opened the door slightly so that they could see it then walked to the door on the far right and opened it to show a light blue room with three slightly bigger than single beds with bedside tables. There was two wardrobes and a dresser. Above each bed was a painting. A blue/green carpet was on the floor boards. A window was covered with green curtains, the view was of the lake.

The boys put their bags on a bed and then turned around "So what do you want to do?" Sirius asked and moved some hair away from his face

"You want to go flying?" Lily suggested

"I thought you weren't good at broom flying?" Said Remus, he seemed slightly confused

Lily raised an eyebrow "Who said anything about brooms?" She asked and Denisa grinned at her while the boys cast questioning looks to each other.

Denisa and Lily gestured for the boys to follow them and made their way back downstairs and outside the front door, they turned right and went off towards the forest but not into it; they turned right again and found a clearing where wooden fencing held seven Hippogriffs of different colours, they were tied loosely to the fence and a stone trough with bits of dead animals was in the middle. James and Remus stared at the Hippogriffs with wide eyes.

Sirius, who had always like Hippogriffs, walked up to a black one with dark green eyes and bowed low while looking it in the eyes and not blinking. It bowed back and he stroked it for a while before climbing onto it, careful not to pick any feathers as he knew that the Hippogriff would not appreciate that.

Denisa watched him and smiled before bowing down to a brown Hippogriff which bowed back immediately, she stroked it before climbing onto it's back. Neither she nor Sirius flew off and instead waited for the others. Lily walked towards a grey Hippogriff and bowed, it too bowed back and she climbed onto it. James and Remus shrugged at each other before walking to a Hippogriff each, Remus a auburn coloured one and James to a honey coloured one. Both Hippogriffs bowed and the boys boarded. The Hippogriffs took off and they began to fly through the air. They went higher and higher until they could see the whole farm at bird-eye-view. The Hippogriffs soared through the air as fast as they could and made deep dives and times. They flew around the whole farm and had there feet scraped against the lake when the Hippogriffs flew right over the lake. After about and hour they landed softly back into the fenced area and hopped off of the Hippogriffs before they tied them back up. Denisa took some ferrets and threw them at each of the Hippogriffs as a thank you, they were quite happy about this and immediately ate, then closed the fence gate.

"That was actually quite fun" James said in a surprised voice

Sirius scoffed "'Quite?' That was extremely fun. I really do like Hippogriffs" He said

"They really are, Dee and I fly on them every other day" Lily said "Just as long as you don't disrespect them in anyway and only approach when they have bowed to you everything should be okay"

"I've read about Hippogriffs, they are very proud creatures" Remus said "They are very easily offended too so you wouldn't want to go and call one a great ugly bird or anything like that, unless of course you want to be injured or killed"

Denisa smiled "We've never had any problems with ours. But the Grindylows that live deep in the lake can be quite troublesome. Grandpa would have to come with us when we would go swimming so none could attack us but now since we're seventeen we can look after ourselves" Denisa said "Thank Merlin for that"

"We could go swimming tomorrow" Lily said as they neared the house

"Do you want to see us half naked Flower?" Sirius wagged his eyebrows at her as he said this

Lily smirked at him "No, but I have always been curious to see how much fat you have underneath your uniform"

Sirius gasped and straightened his leather jacket "Flower, this body is one hundred percent muscle" He made a gesture towards his body and spun around

"Whatever you say Sirius" Lily said "Whatever you say" She walked on as Sirius stood thinking before he grinned menacingly

Sirius narrowed his eyes slightly, threw her over his shoulder and ran off "SIRIUS BLACK!" Lily shrieked then let out an extremely loud scream "LET ME GO!"

Sirius was heading for the lake and held her over it "You want me to let go?" He asked innocently yet his eyes gleamed with mischief

Lily scowled "Sirius I will hex you" Lily warned

Sirius smiled at her "Why would you do that, Flower?" He lifted her up and down over the lake "Merlin, Flower you are heavy!" Lily growled at him as her feet skimmed the water

Denisa walked past Sirius and Lily with her hand outstretched so that she could push Sirius into the water then hurried into the house to get some drinks with Remus, who was grinning broadly, and James, who was looking extremely amused, followed her inside

SPLASH! Lily and Sirius emerged from the freshwater spluttering. Lily, whos face had become as red as her hair, turned towards Sirius angrily "Why on Earth would you do that?" She asked, her voice was as cold as she was

Sirius blinked at her "Someone pushed me in" He said indignantly

Realization flickered in Lily's eyes "DENISA WILSON!" Lily shouted as she walked out of the lake, albeit very slowly as her clothes were dragging her down

Denisa walked out with a large tray of biscuits, iced pumpkin juice, apple juice and orange juice along with cups. She sat at a round table that was stationed outside the house with a large, blue umbrella shielding it from sunlight. Lily stomped over to the table where Denisa, James and Remus had taken their seats and were munching on biscuits

"Denisa why would you do that?" Lily asked while squeezing her t-shirt to rid it of water

"He was going to throw you in anyway so I decided Sirius should get in too" Denisa stuck her hand out revealing Lily's 10 1/4 inch Willow wand "I'm sorry, but at least he got soaked too"

Lily smiled and took it her wand and dried herself with the hot air charm. She sat next to James and took a glass then filled it apple juice. Sirius plopped down next to Remus "Do you guys have any idea who is going to get Head Girl and Boy?" Sirius asked curiously

"Why are you interested in that?" Remus said "You don't care about rules"

"You're right, I don't however, I need to know who will be acting like douche-bags and docking me points for breathing, which is what would happen if a Slytherin got Head Boy or Girl... well more if a Slytherin boy got the role, no girl can resist my charms not even the Slytherins" Sirius said proudly

"I think Lily is going to get Head Girl" Denisa said "It makes sense, she is a top student and a prefect" She picked up her glass of orange juice and took a sip

Sirius nodded "Maybe Moony will get Head Boy. You and Flower would be good Heads"

Denisa scoffed "You're only saying that because they wont get you into trouble since they're your friends"

"True" Sirius said said and took hold of a custard cream and began eating "But-" He swallowed "What if Remus and Flower actually decide to do the job properly? What would happen to me then? And Remy will not be able to help us with our pranks because he'll be too busy patrolling and then what will happen?" Sirius looked panicked "Promise me, Moony! Promise you will carry on pranking even if you get Head Boy!"

Remus said "Sirius, I'm not going to get Head Bo-"

"Promise!" Sirius interjected

"Boy, I wont have the time between full moons and I'd have to get time off every month a-" Remus carried on

"PROMISE"

"And the prefects might notice my disapperances have a key, they are quite smart peo-"

"PROMISE!"

"-ple and frankly I don't really want to be Head Boy, to much work real-"

"_PROMISE!_" Sirius said desperately

James, Lily and Denisa were watching the whole interaction with bemused expressions and Remus finally said "Fine, Padfoot. If I get Head Boy, and I wont, I promise, no, I Solemnly swear that I will keep on making and managing mischief" Sirius smiled and let out a sigh of relief as he place his head on the table.

The next morning the boys were lightly snoring in their room when the door creaked open and two girls, Lily, with her dark red hair loose against her back and her sparkling green eyes, and Denisa who had her hair tied up in a high ponytail and with glittering brown eyes. Both of them were in their pyjamas, while Lily had a purple tank top on and plaid shorts, Denisa had an oversized t-shirt that was black with U2 written on it in white she also wore grey pyjama shorts. They slowly tip toed inside the room, Lily made her way over to James' bed, his unruly hair was poking out of the sheets, she carefully pulled out her wand and muttered a spell so that the bed wouldn't creak or sink when she stood on top; she then proceeded to heave herself onto the bed and remove the charm, Denisa was doing the same thing at Sirius' bed. Then they began to jump.

Sirius groaned as Denisa jumped repeatedly. He bleared up at her then put his head back onto the pillow and pretended to sleep already having come up with a plan in his head. Denisa carried on jumping when suddenly something pulled her leg and she fell right next to Sirius who started tickling her

"Stop! - Pl- please" Denisa giggled and tried pushing Sirius' hands from her stomach "Si- Sirius st- stop! Lily!" Denisa pleaded and gasped for air

Lily smirked at her best friend momentarily distracted which James used to his advantage as he began to tickle her too. Remus had woken up from the amount of noise wordlessly got up and joined in with tickling Lily

"Ah! St- stop" Lily laughed loudly, her red hair was getting messy and tears of laughter were streaming from her bright green eyes

Both girls got a few seconds break then the tickling restarted. Denisa tumbled from Sirius' bed and bumped her head. She wasn't hurt but decided this was perfect for revenge and pretended to be passed out. Sirius stood up quickly and knelt next to her and tapped her on the face "Nisa? Nisa... Denisa!" He said frantically. The others had stopped and ran up to her. As Denisa's hand was right next to her pocket she carefully pulled out her wand before murmuring '_Aguamenti_' which sprayed the three boys with water as Lily started laughing.

Denisa sat up and Sirius wiped his face and stared at her "Merlin, don't ever do that again. You scared the shite out of me" Sirius said

Denisa tried to read his face, he seemed both relieved and slightly scared. She smiled at him "Sorry Sirius"

Sirius waved his hand "It's fine" He said and stood up before offering Denisa his hand and pulling her up too, he smirked at her U2 top that was about five sized too big for her and went down to just slightly higher than mid thigh, Denisa blushed and looked away from him

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you people?" Someone demanded from the door; it was Danny. His hair that was short around the sides and longer at the top was very messy, his green-brown eyes were narrowed in anger and he was in pyjama pants and a blue t-shirt "Why would you get up at-" He checked his watch and gasped in shock and anger "Six in the bloody morning!? Huh?" Danny looked at all of them individually with a deep scowl of the utmost hatred

"It was your sisters and Lily's fault" James muttered

Danny turned his glare towards Lily and Denisa with a raised eyebrow "I repeat, what in Merlin's name is wrong with you!?"

Denisa smiled at her brother and went towards him "Go have your coffee, Dan" Denisa said calmly "Go on" Danny blinked at her then he nodded dumbly and stumbled down the hallway then down the stairs to the kitchen

"What did you do to him?" Lily said as she listened to the heavy stamping of Danny's feet as he went down the stairs

"He's just tired, he's not used to getting up before ten" Denisa said with a small shrug "I know him too well"

Lily nodded then clapped her hands and turned to the boys "Who wants to go swimming?" She asked

Sirius and James' faces lit up at the idea while Remus shuffled awkwardly "Urm... I think I may just stay up here and read" He said

"Nonsense, Remus. Of course you're coming" Denisa said

Remus shook his head "No, really. I think I might just stay here" Remus said

Lily stared at him incrediously "Why?"

Remus shuffled again and looked at his feet "I just... I have some scars that I'd prefer you didn't see" He said almost inaudibly

"Remus," Lily said in a careful and quiet voice "A few scars isn't going to scare us off... okay?" Remus looked up at Denisa who nodded with a sad smile

"We love you, Remus. Neither Lily nor I would care if you had thousands of scars" Denisa said

Remus nodded soundly "We should get changed" He said to the boys; Denisa and Lily rushed out the room, after they gave Remus a kiss on his cheeks, and into their own.

Denisa took her blue bandeau bikini and put it on then pulled on some denim shorts along with a loose white top and grabbed a blue towel. Lily put on her light blue floral bikini. She also put on a plain blue strapless dress that stopped mid-thigh.

They joined the boys outside beside the lake. James was wearing red trunks and was currently shirtless showing his well defined torso that Lily hastily took her eyes and turned towards the lake with a dark blush, Sirius was in blue trunks and he too was shirtless and he, like James, had an extremely defined torso and Denisa couldn't even look at him without blushing deeply, he also had a pair of black sunglasses on, Remus was wearing black trunks and a black t-shirt. He smiled hesitantly when the girls walked up to them.

"You took long enough" James said

"I couldn't find my bikini" Lily replied, she still wasn't looking at James in fear of looking at his chest, and James' cheeks went slightly pink

Denisa then saw something black moving on Sirius' torso, at first she though it was a bug of some sort but she realised it was a dog, a tattooed dog "When did you get a tattoo?" She blurted out

Sirius looked at her then at his chest "Summer after fifth year" He answered then showed her his side where a black 'M' was with the word 'Padfoot' under it "We all have one - yes even Wormtail" He said amusedly as he saw Denisa's look of shock

Denisa turned towards James and sure enough he had the 'M' too with 'Prongs' written underneath it, he also had a stag walking up and down his right arm and shoulder. Thankfully the girls didn't question the animals. Denisa tilted her head slightly as she watched the dog tattoo walk then collapse as it seemed to go to sleep "I've always wanted a tattoo" Denisa said and Lily nodded in agreement

"Muggle ones are so boring, they just stay still" Lily said "Where did you get them?"

"Knockturn Alley..." James said in a voice so quiet Lily almost didn't hear. Almost.

"Knockturn Alley!?" Lily said loudly "There are all types of people there!"

James held his hands up in defence "It's all right, we just went in, got the tattoos done and left"

Lily stared at him for a second then sighed "Well there's nothing I can do, is there?"

No one realised when Denisa pulled her hair band out, stripped off her clothes, leaving her in her bikini, then dived into the water. The others heard the splash and turned around to see Denisa's head bobbing in the water and she was watching them expectantly "Well come on!" She said; Sirius nodded and cannonballed in causing mass amounts of water to raise and fall like rain. His head popped out of the water and then Denisa splashed him with water. He mock glared at her then splashed her back. She grinned at him and he grinned back.

A big splash sounded as James, Lily and Remus all jumped into the water. Lily splashed Remus, who splashed back but it hit James who splashed both Denisa and Remus at the same time who was then splashed by Sirius and that is how the full out splash war began. Denisa and Lily had teamed up against the boys and were trying with all their might but the boys had bigger hands, more stamina and strength so the girls soon had an eyeful of water.

"Okay! We surrender!" Lily said with her hand in front of her face

James grinned "Of course you do, Evans. There was no chance of you two winning against us" He said as he high-fived Sirius and Remus, Lily splashed him in return but James merely smiled at her, she smiled back.

Denisa's loud coughing snapped them back to reality and they hesitantly looked away from each other "If you guys are done eye- shagging" Denisa said with a sly smile, Lily scowled at her before going taking in a deep breath and going underwater where she grabbed Denisa by the ankles and pulled her under. When they emerged they began laughing and then the five of them started playing random games like who could stay underwater the longest.

Denisa and Lily climbed out of the lake after an hour in the water deciding to try and get some form of a tan. Sirius watched as Denisa got out then she immediately hurried to wrap herself in her towel. He could tell that she wasn't cold as Lily didn't run, she twirled in the heat coming from the sun. Lily laid down her towel on the fresh grass and put on her black sunglasses on then laid down basking in the heat. Denisa hesitantly dropped her towel after Lily said something to her and laid down on top of it. Sirius frowned, Denisa had an excellent body and he didn't see why she was so insecure about it. Frankly Sirius couldn't see a single imperfection in Denisa except for her insecurity. He decided that he would change that, he didn't even realise he was staring... Sirius was brought out of his thoughts by a splash of water to his face. He turned to find James and Remus grinning at him. "What?" He asked and raised his hands to his face to wipe the water away from his eyes

Remus' grin became bigger "Nothing, absolutely nothing" Remus said

James chuckled and Sirius became more suspicious "What?" Sirius asked again

James smiled widely "Nothing, absolutely nothing" James said, repeating Remus' words

Sirius scowled then splashed him with water.

The next morning the girls informed the boys that they would be going into the muggle town nearby. So they all got dressed, Lily had on denim shorts; which showed off her long and creamy legs, a green top that was loose and flowed slightly along with white trainers. She had a pair of black sunglasses rested on her head. Denisa had a white lace summer dress on which reached to her knees and brown sandals. Sirius had on a grey t-shirt and blue jeans and he held his black leather jacket in one arm. James had a black polo top and blue jeans. Remus had a blue t-shirt, khaki shorts on and trainers.

The town was called Glover, it had cobbled streets and shops lined them, restaurants, clothing stores, grocery stores, shoe shops, electronic stores and so on. Denisa and Lily looked at the boys apologetically as they told them they had to go into a store quickly just to return something.

"We'll only be a few minutes" Lily said and walked into the store that seemed full of summer clothes and accesories

Denisa smiled at the boys "Sorry?" She said and hurried in after Lily

The boys leaned up against the wall and looked onto the street. Sirius was on the right, then it was Remus then James. Remus felt an odd tickling sensation on the back of his neck, he felt as though someone was staring at him. Remus turned towards James and Sirius "Do you guys feel like someone is watching us?" He asked and then they heard a high pitched laugh. The boys turned to their left.

Three girls giggled as they watched the boys from a wooden bench they were sat on. One had waist length black hair and brown eyes she also had a very pointed face with sharp features and her face seemed caked in make up, one had light brown hair and blue eyes with a round shaped face and her eyelashes looked like slugs as she had so much mascara on and one had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes with a large mole above her lip and gritty teeth. Each was very skinny and wearing incredibly short skirts that you could call a belt and tank tops that showed most of their bras.

James, Sirius and Remus exchanged slightly alarmed looks before turning back around and hoped that the girls would take this as a sign that they didn't want to talk. This did not work as the three girls stood up and walked up to them..

"Hey" The blonde one said in a voice she seemed to think was flirty, she seemed to stand crookedly as her back was arched making her chest throw out and as she spoke her mole wobbled so much that James was quite frightened that it would jump off of her face and attach itself to him

"Hi" James, Sirius and Remus chorused and they turned back to staring ahead but the girls didn't leave, much to Remus' annoyance while Sirius and James seemed slightly angry

"So you boys from around here?" The black haired one said in a raspy voice, a bit of her thick make up slipped from her face and onto her chest but she didn't seem to notice the make up and only that Sirius' eyes followed the slip and it seemed to make her quite confident as she thrust her chest and gave a proud smile

"No" Sirius answered as his eyes flicked back to looking in front of him and a slightly disgusted look took over his face

"I'm Sasha" The black haired one, Sasha, said she pointed to the blonde one with a thin finger that had a long, claw like nail which was painted hot pink "This is Bethany" She pointed to the brown haired one who pouted slightly and James noticed she had a large cold sore on her upper lip and he felt like gagging "This is Jade" She smiled

Remus nodded stiffly and introduced them "Sirius?" Sasha said "That is a different name"

Sirius said nothing but carried on staring ahead

"What does it mean?" Jade asked in fascination and the wart wobbled again, she didn't seem to notice as she gave Sirius her undivided attention, Sasha and Bethany were doing the same

"I'm named after a star" Sirius said uninterestedly

"That is so cool" Bethany gushed and fluttered her slug like eyelashes

"Yeah, so unique" Sasha said and flicked her black hair away from her face

Sirius shrugged again "Not really. Most of my family is named after stars and constellations"

"What's a constellation?" Bethany asked as she wrapped some of her hair around her fingers while pursing her lips until she looked like a demented duck

The boys looked at them in disbelief and slight disgust "Don't worry" James said with a roll of his eyes

The three girls giggled as if he had said something incredibly funny

"So where do you go to school?" Sasha said and placed a hand on her hip

"It's a boarding school, you wouldn't have heard of it" Remus said without looking at her, his mother was a muggle so he knew about non-magical things like boarding schools.

"What so like you three are like rich enough to like go to like boarding school?" Jade said and Remus restrained a laugh as he imagined pound signs in her eyes

"Well like, yeah" James said imitating her, none of the girls seemed to get it. Remus and Sirius snorted and exchanged amused looks

"How old are you guys?" Sasha asked and flipped her hair again even though none of it was in front of her

"Seventeen" James muttered then looked at his fingernails on his left hand

"Can we have your numbers?" Sasha asked boldly and extremely loudly as though she couldn't control the own volume of her voice

Sirius and James stared at her while Remus didn't seem to hear as he was looking through the window to see Lily arguing with the shop keeper "Red head tempers" Remus muttered to himself in a slightly amused and annoyed voice as this meant she was going to be in there for ages

"What?" Sirius said to the girls and looked at them for probably the first time during the whole conversation

Jade giggled, it was incredibly fake and squeaky "Can we have your numbers?" She asked and Sirius just narrowed his eyes in confusion, he honestly had no idea what she was on about and was actually thinking of recommending a mind Healer.

James leaned in towards Sirius and whispered "You did Muggle Studies, what is she on about?"

Sirius spoke out of the corner of his mouth "I have no idea what so ever"

James returned to staring at Jade and trying to understand what she said "Could you repeat the question?"

Bethany smile fliratiously "Could you like, maybe like give us your like numbers?" She asked

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Sirius said blankly and luckily for them this time Remus had heard and saved them

"They don't have phones" Remus cut in "They aren't into technology. They say it burns braincells"

The girls looked disappointed. Sasha walked up to stand next to Sirius against the wall and took hold of his hand, he pulled it out of her grasp. Her hand was sweaty yet extremely hard and Sirius suddenly remembered holding Denisa's hand at platform 9 and 3/4, he shook these thoughts away. "You wanna get out of here" She purred "I live down the road..." She nodded her head towards the right

Sirius was spared from coming up with an excuse by Lily and Denisa who had just emerged from the shop, Lily looked murderous and was muttering darkly under her breath about lousy policies. She stopped when she saw the girls and three uncomfortable looking Marauders. "Hello," Denisa said and walked towards the boys and stood in front of them, Lily stood next to her while Jade and Bethany had managed to squeeze in between James and Remus, all three boys looked incredibly relieved to see Denisa and Lily "Who are you?" Denisa asked politely even though a strange part of her wanted to rip them apart, she ignored those thoughts though

Sasha looked her up and down, from Denisa's shoes to her hair, and curled her lip "We were here first!" Sasha sneered

Lily looked at her as if she was insane and the fact that she was already pissed off didn't help "Who are you?" Lily asked rudely "And why are you with Potter, Remus and Sirius?"

Jade was going red "Didn't you hear? We were here first!" Her voice shook with anger while Sasha tried to cling onto Sirius' arm but he kept shaking her off

"I'm sorry if it may seem that way" Denisa said coldly, she really didn't like the girls attitude or the way she was acting as though she owned Sirius, James and Remus. She watched as Sirius struggled to get Sasha off of his arm and thought for a second before giving Sasha a cold smile and she raised her dark and perfectly plucked eyebrows "But, actually I was" Denisa held out her hand to Sirius and he immediately took it with relief that hers wasn't incredibly sweaty like Sasha's but soft and warm and it seemed to fit perfectly in his hand...

Sasha raised a drawn on eyebrow at Sirius "Pick!" She demanded "Me" She gestured to her self with her dark red tiny tank top and shorts that left nothing to the imagination and breasts that seemed to be hanging out, Denisa suddenly realised that Sasha was wearing two bras that were extremely small for her which made her breasts look bigger than they actually were and her black hair was pin straight, obviously it had been straightened "Or her?" She gestured to Denisa in her simple dress that was modest yet looked extremely good on her and her hair that was in a high ponytail. She looked amazing in Sirius' eyes and he smiled slightly at her as she shuffled uncomfortably under everyone's stares. Sirius answered by giving Denisa a quick peck on the space right next to her lips, it caused a large jolt of electricity to run through both their veins. Denisa turned the other way so he wouldn't see the blush forming on her face and neck, but most unfortunately, Lily saw.

Sasha bristled and turned to James and Remus "What about you?" She asked angrily while Jade and Bethany sneered at Denisa

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Lily snapped angrily "You don't even know these guys and yet you claim to own them? Why don't you go home, get rid of the slugs that seem to be clinging to your eye lids, the frosting that you seem to have stolen from a birthday cake and smeared on your face and while you're at it, get rid of one of the bras your wearing because it's not doing anything to 'maximise you assets' and leave Potter, Remus and Sirius alone!" Lily finished and the girls were staring at her as though she had slapped them. Lily turned around but someone took hold of her arm and pulled her back

"We were her first!" Jade said

Lily scowled at her and took James' right hand into her left and Remus' left hand into her right and pulled them along "We're Mormons" She said casually to Jade, Sasha and Bethany who were looking mutinous. Sirius grinned at Denisa and followed Lily he was still holding Denisa's hand and she definitely wasn't going to pull away. Denisa turned around to see Sasha, Jade and Bethany looking put out and angry she gave them a smile and a wave.

They walked into a diner like restaurant and sat down at a red booth in the corner. Lily slid in first followed by Denisa, Sirius, Remus then James. A teenage girl of about nineteen was their waitress, Denisa saw her unbutton the top buttons of her pink shirt before she approached them. She had curly brown hair and dark ruby lips along with tanned skin and large breasts. She walked up to them and smiled at James, Sirius and Remus. What was it with the girls in this town? Lily thought

"Hello, I am Carol and I will be your waitress" Carol said "Would you like some menus?" She asked the boys, they nodded and she skipped of and was back in about ten seconds with three green menus "Here you are" She handed them to the boys.

"You forgot two" James said as he noticed that Lily and Denisa had no menus and he actually felt slightly annoyed now

"Huh?" Carol said blankly "I don't know what you're on about"

James said nothing and instead pointed towards Denisa and Lily. Carol seemed surprised to see them then ran off to bring them menus too before leaving again. Lily rolled her eyes as she pulled open the menu and began to search the page, the rest followed suit

"What is all of this?" James asked, turning the menu sideways then upside down "What in Merlin's name is a coke?"

Lily smiled at him, "Purebloods" She muttered with a small smile as she wasn't the slightest bit annoyed, more amused than anything. Lily liked the fact that she had tought Denisa about the Muggle world as Denisa tought Lily about the magical world. Now Lily could teach James and even Sirius "Coke is a fizzy drink" Lily said in a slow voice to mock him and she had a large grin on her face that James thought was extremely beautiful

"Like Butterbeer is fizzy?" James said happily, he like butterbeer

"Yes" Said Lily

Carol came back with a black notepad "Can I take your orders?" She said in a slightly bored tone, she had said the same thing to about twenty people that day

Lily nodded "I would like a cheese burger and fries and a coke to drink" Carol nodded and jotted it down

"Urm... I'll have fries and a strawberry milkshake" Denisa said

"I will have the cheese and bacon panini and a lemonade" Remus said, Carol scribbled it in the notebook

Sirius scanned the page "I - hm - I don't know..." He trailed off as he examined the menu again

Carol nodded "I will ask you again, keep reading"

James was so flustered he dropped his menu and thought about what the others ordered before squeaking out "I will have a - er - burger and - um - lemonade" He said

Carol smiled and looked back at Sirius "Urm...Fries?" Carol nodded "And a coke?" Sirius asked.

"Your orders will be right up" Carol said and walked off with swaying hips

Lily laughed "Wow, Sirius" She said and laughed "Just... Wow"

Sirius buried his head into Denisa's shoulder. She was laughing as she patted his head.

"Stop laughing at me" Sirius groaned, it only made Denisa laugh harder. Sirius pouted and gave her puppy dog eyes, something he was incredibly good at because of his animagus form.

Denisa frowned "You're too good at that" She said bitterly while Sirius grinned

Lily was laughing at James now and imitating the way he dropped his menu much to James' dismay and Remus' amusement.

Carol brought them their food and drinks "Can I get you anything else?" She asked everyone sweetly; she seemed to have changed her mind about the boys after seeing Sirius unable to open his coke can

"No, thank you" Lily said and Carol nodded before going to a table full of guys

Lily laughed as James tried to get ketchup out of the bottle without opening the lid, she took the bottle from him, their hands brushed momentarily causing something to erupt in Lily's stomach, and took the lid of before hitting the base of it a few times to get ketchup out. James' eyes were wide with wonder.

James took a bit of his burger and sighed dreamily "This is ah- mazing" He said as he swallowed while Sirius picked up one of his fries and took a small bite at the end of it before putting it fully in his mouth "It's good" He said happily

When they had finished eating they returned to walking around the town until they came across a muggle sports shop, James and Sirius of course wanted to see what types of ingenious sports muggles had come up with, so the five of them walked into the large shop with different sections for different sports. Sirius had found a basketball and was staring at it strangely while James was watching an old football game that was playing on a TV "No brooms!" He shouted in fascination, even Denisa was examining the items; she picked up a tennis racket and began examining it "So, they hit fuzzy yellow balls with this?" She asked "Why?" Lily and Remus followed the three of them and explained each of the things, if they didn't know the answer they would just make something up "There is eleven people on each team because the man who invented footballs, Arnold Football, favourite number was eleven" Lily said to James who nodded in understanding while Remus stifled a laugh and began explaining Rugby to Sirius. They spent about half an hour in the shop and James bought a football while Sirius decided he like Quidditch a lot better.

Two more days passed and Remus' furry little problem was an hour away from unleashing. Remus looked incredibly pale and shabby as he nibbled at some chocolate while Denisa and Lily were fretting over him

"Remus, will you be well enough to get to the old house?" Denisa asked tentatively

Remus smiled painfully "I'm not sure. Maybe I should go now" Remus said, James took Remus' arm and wrapped it across his shoulders

They walked though the forest with Denisa leading the way alongside Lily. James, Sirius and Remus were behind them. Soon they arrived at an old cottage. Its windows were boarded but the front door was unlocked. It had an overgrown garden and the old yellow paint was peeling away. Denisa led them into a room that was downstairs, it had three moth eaten green sofas that were covered with a dusty white sheet. A brown wooden coffee table was in the middle of the room. The paint on the walls was peeling away and the room was incredibly dusty. "It's not much..." Denisa said "But you should be safe here"

Remus nodded and sat down on one of the sofas. "You two should go" Remus said "I don't want to pick up your scent later and try to kill you"

"When will you guys come back?" Denisa asked Sirius and James, neither she nor Lily knew about them being Animagi

"James and I will be there soon, you two go to bed" Sirius said and the girls nodded before kissing Remus on the cheek.

Remus stripped until he was left in his underwear and stuffed his clothes into a bag, Sirius put them into the next room and retuned to sit next to Remus and James on the dusty sofa.

"Lets not explore the grounds, yeah" Remus said "I- Denisa had been really good letting me transform in here and I don't want to betray her trust like I did to Dumbledore"

Sirius and James nodded wordlessly. About half an hour later Remus groaned in pain as his transformation began and Sirius and James turned around not wanting to watch their best friend in pain. They hated seeing it. James and Sirius immediately transformed, Sirius becoming a large, black dog with sharp teeth and grey eyes while James became a large brown haired stag with hazel eyes and strange shaping around his eyes that were a paler brown which was from his glasses. Moony let out a long howl and began to play with his friends.

The next day James, Sirius and Remus spent most of the day in bed. No one disturbed them. Danny collapsed onto the sofa next to Denisa while Lily sat on the other sofa

"We've barely seen you this holiday, Dan. Where have you been hiding?" Lily asked. Danny shrugged in reply and laid his head down into Denisa's lap so she'd play with his hair, something he had loved since he was a child, she absent mindedly ran her hands through his locks.

"Well, I wasn't about to hang around with you and three out of four Marauders," Danny said "Besides, I've been having a lot of fun with some of the Muggle girls from town" He winked at Lily and she groaned in disgust

"Really, Dan, really?" Denisa said as she tugged on his hair causing him to give a small shriek

"Sorry!" He said and Denisa's hands stopped pulling and let her hands return to playing

When the boys had rested up, the next morning Grandpa Wilson asked them to collect all the Unicorn hairs that got caught in twigs or that fell out. Grandpa Wilson would never take them from the Unicorns by force but he could sell them for fifteen Galleons a piece as he couldn't work this was his main source of income. He also sold flowers that he grew and Hippogriff feathers, for quills when they fall out, no one would dare pick a Hippogriffs feathers.

They decided to make a boring job into a game, whoever got the least amount of hairs would be thrown into the lake. The five of them emerged an hour later with their hands full of long, white hairs and began counting

"Fourty- eight" Lily said proudly

"Twenty- two" James said in a mournful voice

Sirius was still counting so they skipped him

"Eighteen" Remus said in a defeated tone

"Sixty- one" Denisa said with a smug grin then they turned to Sirius

"Sixteen" He said happily and watched them expectantly as he had not yet realised that the others had already stated their numbers

James and Remus smirked and began to close in on Sirius who seemed to have realised what was happening as his eyes widened and he ran off screaming with James and Remus hot on his tail. Soon enough they had him and James had taken hold of his legs while Remus had taken his arms and Sirius was just screaming and thrashing about while Remus and James approached the edge of the lake where they began swinging him, once, twice then three times before they flung him about seven metres into the water. Sirius was of course very angry and sought revenge by throwing all of James and Remus' clothes into the middle of the lake.

On the last day they went flying on the Hippogriffs again. Soon it was time to go. Denisa and Lily both hugged the boys tightly before they Disapparated home.

* * *

Dorea and Charlus were waiting for Sirius and James when they arrived and Dorea hugged her boys and kissed them, neither noticed the fact that she was crying or the amount of weight she had lost. James and Sirius announced they were going to go put their clothes away and rushed off.

Dorea went upstairs into her kitchen and sat down on a chair she had just conjured. She thought about the past week, she told her sons that she was on holiday with Charlus but in truth she was in Saint Mungos. She was getting check ups and diagnostics but the Healers told her their was no chance of survival, no treatment had been made yet for her disease. She thought about her family. Dorea came from the Black family. She thought of her brother Marius who was disowned for being a Squib, she remembered him with his blue eyes, dark brown hair and good looks. She remembered his eleventh birthday when they waited for his Hogwarts letter for hours but it never came. He was disowned and made to live in the Muggle world. Dorea missed her brother and decided she should visit him before it was too late. Dorea thought of her sister Cassiopeia, they hadn't talked in about twenty years. Cassiopeia had never liked Dorea. Cassiopeia had dark brown hair, like Marius and a pointed face with sharp features. Dorea remembered her sister vividly. Dorea thought of her eldest brother, Pollux, he had black hair like she did and cold grey eyes, so unlike Sirius'. Dorea thought of her niece, Walburga, Sirius' mother. She had no idea that Sirius was currently living with her or Dorea would have been disowned long ago. She though of her favourite nephew, Alphard. He was like her, he did not believe in the blood purity rubbish but wasn't brave enough to say anything to the family. Her other nephew Cygnus came to mind. Dorea shivered slightly as she thought of Bellatrix, Dorea knew what Bella had become. Next was Andromeda, she had married a muggleborn, Ted Tonks. They were happy together from what Dorea had heard from Sirius, they had had a metamorphmagus daughter called Nymphadora. Dorea sighed at the name. She agreed with Sirius when he said that it was cruel to call her that. Dorea thought of Narcissa who had recently married Lucius Malfoy. She went to the wedding. It seemed that Narcissa actually loved Lucius, this made Dorea happy. She remembered when she was told by her parents that she was betrothed to Charlus. She was so angry. She told her parents she wanted to marry for love. She remembered Cygnus and Violetta's responses clearly in her mind. 'Love?' They had sneered and she remembered so vividly the cold, hard laugh they gave'There is no such thing! You think that we love each other? No. We married to keep the purity of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black! You will marry Charlus Potter! He comes from a blood line as pure as ours and has plenty of gold in the vault! Do you want to disappoint us Dorea Black? Do you want to be a disgrace to the name of Black like that- that filthy Squib!?" Their scornful voices had cut her deeply that day. She decided to think of something happier. Dorea smiled as she remembered her wedding day. She had been terrified that Charlus was going to be an ugly, rude and obnoxious man. As she had been getting ready her make up for the sixth time that day, she had been crying so much it kept being ruined, there was a knock at her door. When she opened it she had seen the most handsome man she had ever laid her eyes on. His perfectly defined jaw, his bright eyes, his jet black unruly hair and the charming grin he had on his face. His face had fallen when he saw her tears 'Are you all right? Merlin. I hate that they're forcing us into this but we really have no choice' He had said 'Please don't cry. You're really lowering my self-esteem. I can feel my ego falling with every tear. Honestly I am not that terrible' Dorea remembered how she had laughed, it had been the first time in weeks. She remembered falling in love with Charlus little by little every single day. She remembered when she had James. He was the most adorable baby, he was born with a black tuft of untameable hair and he looked up at her and Charlus with his perfect hazel eyes. She had fallen in love with her baby boy when she first laid eyes on him.

Dorea and Charlus were sat in the dining room, Charlus had the Daily Prophet propped up in front of him while Dorea buttered some toast tiredly. An Owl swooped in through the open window with two letters in its beak; the Hogwarts letters.

"Boys! The Hogwarts letters are here!" Charlus announced

James and Sirius ran through the door still in their pyjamas and took hold of their letters. Sirius had two letters and opened up is Hogwarts letter happily. Something fell out of James' envelope with a soft CLANG. It was a badge. A badge with the words 'Head Boy' on them. No one spoke. No one moved. They just stared at the badge. James snapped out of his trance and pulled out a letter from the envelope.

_Dear Mr J. Potter,_

_you have been selected to be the Head Boy from years 1977/1978._

_This is a very big responsibility. As Head Boy you will have many duties to perform, you_

_will have to arrange and lead Prefect meetings, arrange Hogsmeade dates for Third Years_

_and above, patrol the corridors after hours and find troublemakers and give them suitable_

_punishments. You will also have a common room to share with this years Head Girl,_

_access to the Prefects Bathroom and the ability to take and give out points and_

_give wrong doers detention. We ask that you do not exploit this authority for your own_

_amusement. On September 1st you will be leading a Prefects meeting along with the Head Girl._

_After the Start of Term Feast you will be having a meeting with the Headmaster to discuss_

_duties and to ask any questions you may have. The Headmaster also asks that you do not_

_inform anyone other than your parents and Sirius._

_I wish you luck with your role._

_Sincerely, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

_of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

James blinked at the letter and reread it many times before accepting that it was in fact for him and that Minnie didn't get him and Remus mixed up. He handed the letter wordlessly to Dorea and Charlus, who were watching him with blank expressions, they both gasped as they read it. This didn't help James. When Sirius got the letter he stared at it for a second then suddenly he went limp in his chair. Sirius Black had fainted because his best friend got Head Boy. James didn't blame him though, he was very close to doing the same thing. What on Earth was Dumbledore thinking? Making one of the biggest troublemakers in the whole school Head Boy... It was insane. James suddenly understood why some people called Dumbledore brilliant but completely mad. He had the proof of it in front of him.

He was hardly aware that Dorea had stood up and was kissing him all over the face "My darling boy! Oh! I have to tell everyone! I want everyone to know how proud I am of my Head Boy!" She gushed "Oh! I thought you had caused too much trouble to become Head Boy but no!"

Charlus splashed a goblet of water into Sirius' face, he woke up immediately and looked at James "PRONGS! I just had the strangest dream. You got Head Boy, it wasn't even a joke and then... and then I don't remember what happened" Sirius' eyes wandered to the badge that was still on the table and he scowled "It wasn't a dream!" He wailed "This is the end of the Marauders!" Sirius looked faint again "I- I can't deal with this right now" Sirius stood up and pushed his way from the mahogany table

James frowned "Padfoot, please... don't do this" He too got up and walked to Sirius

Sirius put his hand up to stop him "I... I just need some time... Okay that is all that I am asking for. I need to get my head around this... it's a lot for me to handle. I'm sorry Prongs. I need some time"

James nodded slowly "I understand Padfoot. Take all the time you need, I will wait for you" Sirius smiled slightly him, nodded curtly and left through the door. Dorea and Charlus were staring at the boys with mild amusement. James sighed remorsefully "Trust Padfoot to act like a total drama queen" James muttered with a tight smile on his lips.

James found Sirius later on outside and sitting on the bench, he had a tight grip on a letter and tears were falling freely from his face. "Sirius. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. So what? I'm Head Boy, this way you wont get into trouble" Sirius shook his head and handed the letter to James

_**Sirius** - Mother did not want me to tell you this but I think that you_

_deserve to know. Sirius, Uncle Alphard was sick, he was for a long time._

_The Healers at Saint Mungos told him that their was a medicine but they_

_were not one hundred percent sure that it would work. Uncle Alphard said no._

_He said that he was getting old anyway and that he was going to die sooner_

_or later. Sirius, he died a few nights ago. He also left everything he owned_

_in your name. Everything, Sirius. His Gringotts Vault, his old house even_

_his clothes! Mother was so angry that she disowned him and she burnt him_

_off of the tapestry. Uncle Alphard liked you most. What was it Uncle Alphard use to_

_call you? '_My brave little lion_' He always knew, didn't he? He always knew that_

_you would be Sorted into Gryffindor. It's very strange not seeing his name there._

_It's just a big black mark now. It's the same for you, Siri and 'Dromeda._

_I really do hope that you are happy. I know you are with the Potters but I_

_have not told Mother as she would burn off Aunt Dorea too. I expect someone_

_from the Ministry will be coming to talk to you soon about Uncle Alphards Will._

_I hope you are well and you do not have to reply to this letter if you do not want to._

_I just thought you should know. - **Your Brother, R.A.B**_

"Padfoot" James said softly "Are you okay?" He asked hesitantly as he lowered himself onto the bench next to Sirius who furiously wiped his tears.

"I'm going to find an apartment Prongs" Sirius said softly yet firmly "I think I should live alone for a while, get ready for after school. I really can't stay here forever"

James frowned "Padfoot, you don't have to leave. We don't want you to" James said

Sirius smiled at his best friend, his brother "I know Prongs. You guys are like my family but I think I need to do this" Sirius pursed his lips in thought before he sighed heavily "I don't know how to explain it" He said

James nodded slightly "Mum will want you back at least once a week" James straightened his glasses and looked at his friend

Sirius let out a small laugh "I know" He said

James stood up and ran a hand through his hair and smiled sadly at his friend "Come on, lets tell Mum and Dad, ergh, this is going to suck to watch" He said Sirius let out a chocked laugh, stood up and followed him back into the house.

Sirius, James and Remus stood in a one room apartment in muggle London. It was literally one room with a moth eaten curtain separating the murky and smelly 'bathroom' a lumpy Murphy bed was pulled down and a stove, oven, tap and fridge was in one walls were covered in patchy green mould and were a faded mustard yellow.

The three boys were in a stunned silence which was broken by Remus "Er, well it is... nice?" He said

"It's a shit hole" James said firmly "Why is the bed shaking?" He asked as he backed off

Sirius and Remus turned towards it "There's something living in there" Remus said with wide eyes

Sirius gave a shudder "Lets get out of here" He said and walked out the door, James and Remus trailed behind

They checked to see if anyone was looking before walking into an alleyway and Disapparating to Diagon Alley. "Mum mentioned that there were flats close to here which are owned by Wizards, we should go check them out" James said and Sirius shrugged, he was feeling doubtful that he'd ever find a good place to live

"Well, 'ere yer are" Said the gruff landlord as he opened a white door "Yer can see it for yerselves"

This apartment was actually good, there was a large living room with a kitchen behind it. A hallway led to two bedrooms and a bathroom. The walls were pure white and the floor boards were gleaming.

James and Remus glanced at Sirius who had a smile on his face "I'll take it" Sirius announced and the landlord gave a small, toothless smile

"It's fifty Galleons a week" He said uncertainly

"I still take it!" Sirius said

"Alrigh' then" The landlord said happily

* * *

Denisa and Lily wandered aimlessly around Diagon Alley, they had bought all their school supplies for the year.

"Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team, Dee?" Lily asked as she surveyed her friend

Denisa shrugged "I don't know... maybe" She looked at the Quidditch supply store and then at Lily pleadingly

"All right" Lily said over dramatically and Denisa squealed slightly and pulled Lily in to the store. On the left their was sections with Quidditch team merchandise, on the right were Snitches, Bludgers, Beaters bats and Quaffles along with book on Quidditch like 'Quidditch Through the Ages', In front of the glass there were broomsticks. They approached a shelf that held Snitches "They have flesh memories so don't touch them" Lily warned while Denisa rolled her eyes

"I know, Lilykins" Denisa wandered for a moment "Maybe I should buy one, to practice with if I'm going to be trying out for the Seeker position" Lily hummed in reply as she was looking at all the Chudley Cannons merchandise, Lily always liked underdogs. She picked up a little bright orange badge that said 'CHUDLEY CANNONS' on it and carried on looking through the things

"Dee, should I get a broomstick? We could go flying together after hours" Lily said without taking her eyes off of the merchandise

Denisa grinned "Lily, are you asking me out? Trying to get into my knickers? You promiscuous little minx, but I think we should remain friends" Denisa said and held her heart and cast a pitying look at Lily who threw the orange badge at her "OUCH!"

"You better be buying that" A shop assistant said sternly at Lily who blushed darkly and muttered something under her breath while Denisa laughed outright and loudly.

Lily glowered at Denisa which made her laugh harder. "I'm sorry!" Denisa gasped as Lily went to hit her "But, seriously Lils, you're Head Girl I thought you wouldn't want to sneak out in the early our in the morning" Denisa said with a hint of sadness as she looked anywhere but at Lily

"Denisa, it's my final year at Hogwarts! I deserve to have fun, Head Girl or not" Lily said and took hold of a Chudley Cannons oversized jersey "I love Quidditch jerseys, but this will look terrible with my hair..." Lily gave a sorrowful sigh and put it back before walking off to look at the broomsticks, Denisa followed with a Golden Snitch in her hand.

They examined a Comet 180 in silence.

"Nymphadora, you're too young for a broom!" A woman with thick, wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes, a thin yet kind face and high cheek bones and with a long, slim body. She was very beautiful and she looked extremely familiar, she was holding the hand of a pink haired child, who looked about four years old, the girl had a heart shaped face and light brown eyes.

Lily gasped, alarmed as the pink hair turned a bright, warning red

"Don't call me Nym- that name, Mummy!" The girl, Nymphadora shouted

Her mother tutted "It's a perfectly lovely name, Nymphadora"

Nymphadora scowled "Mummy, call me Tonks or- or Dora, anything but that name, even Siri said it was a bad name. Remember, you started arguing about it"

The woman sighed "Sirius can be silly sometimes, Nym- Dora" She corrected when she saw the mutinous look of her daughter as her face reddened

She noticed that Lily and Denisa were staring at the two with bemused expressions "Hello" The woman said

"You must be Andromeda!" Denisa said loudly "Sorry for staring, Sirius has told us about you" She walked forward and shook Andromeda's hand

"So you know my dearest, fellow blood-traitor cousin?" Andromeda said with a smile

Lily also introduced herself and they got to talking

"This is my daughter, Nymphadora Tonks" Andromeda pushed Tonks forward slightly

Tonks scowled "Call me Tonks" She said and stuck out her hand

Denisa smiled at the girl "Hello, Tonks. Sirius has told me a lot about you" She said "He said you kept doing something to him as a baby but he would never tell us what..."

Andromeda let out a small laugh "You go pay, we'll go get some ice cream and I can tell you some very embarrassing stories about Siri"

The girls nodded and Denisa paid for her Snitch and a Comet 180 which Lily also got as well as a badge.

They three women and pink haired girl sat in front of the Ice cream parlour and were laughing loudly while Nymphadora licked her ice cream while watching people walk past

"I don't understand it, but every time Sirius picked Dora up she just threw up on him" Andromeda giggled "Every time, he actually accused me of doing some sort of spell to make sure it happened to him only, I told him it was probably his cologne but no, he inherited the Black family stubbornness"

Denisa was holding her hand over her mouth and was getting very pink as she restrained her laugh while Lily had her head on the table and was laughing heavily and shamelessly

"I remember the first time her babysat Nym- Dora. I wanted to see how he'd cope so I set up a camera that Ted got from his parents and videoed the whole thing. Merlin, Sirius' face when Dora needed a diaper change was priceless, his eyes had widened to the size of Galleons and he had gone so white you could have mistaken him for the Bloody Baron" Andromeda wiped away a tear "And so he took off her diaper, went completely still and then turned around and threw up into my bin"

"You and Sirius sound like you're really close" Denisa said after her laughter died down

"It happens when two people disagree with their family" Andromeda said "Sirius and I, we're both Blood-traitors"

"When did you start distancing yourself from the Blood supremacy?" Lily asked

Andromeda's face was suddenly serious and she looked sad "I- When I was younger, before Hogwarts, I always thought my family were right; that muggle borns were inferior and that being Pureblood basically made you royalty. Sirius, he constantly questioned it, something I would never have had the courage to do, and always got the same reply 'Their blood is filthy' or 'Because they are, stop asking questions'" Andromeda sighed heavily "I- I didn't understand why either; I just assumed this was how it was and never questioned anything and I spouted off the 'M' word as if it were nothing, but that was the way I was raised. I started questioning this as well, never out loud just in my head, but I ignored the thoughts. When I got to Hogwarts I was Sorted into Slytherin, my family was so proud and I was too. I got along with everyone, I had friends and I was happy. One day though I went to the girls toilets, Moaning Myrtles toilet, and there was this Hufflepuff girl sobbing in there. I walked up to her and sat down on the floor next to her and she looked up at me and flinched then started shuffling away from me shouting 'Get away, I haven't done anything! It's not my fault they aren't magical!" I didn't have to ask what she was talking about and I also knew why she was crying. Some friends of Bella's, Rodolphus Lestrange and Augustus Rookwood, they had cornered her and told her that she was a filthy mudblood and didn't deserve to breath the same air as them" Andromeda looked downwards at her lap where she was wringing her hands "It- it made me feel sick I- I couldn't believe they had said that to someone. In my Fifth year I met Ted" She had a small, dazed smile on her face "I fell in love with him, even though he was a muggleborn, even though I knew my family wouldn't allow it. I knew I would have to make a choice between him and the Black family" She took a breath "And I chose him" She said with finality and she looked at her daughter "If I could go back I would not change a single thing" She said and ran a hand through her daughters bubblegum pink locks

Lily had a small smile on her face and Denisa looked close to tears "You're very lucky, Andromeda" Lily said "You sound so happy"

Andromeda gave her a wide smile "I am, I really am"

Nymphadora yawned "Mummy, can we go home?" She asked sleepily

Andromeda scooped her daughter into her arms and smiled down at Lily and Denisa "Goodbye, I'll see you two soon. Owl me if you need anything" She said and waked away with Nymphadora's head on her shoulder.

"Charming woman" Lily commented and began to eat some of her chocolate ice cream

"Absolutely spiffing" Denisa agreed before laughing "Sirius got thrown up on" Lily joined in with the laughing

"No wonder Sirius didn't tell us" Lily added

"Merlin's hairy feet that was hilarious" Denisa said then began messaging her cheeks "My face hurts from laughing so much"

They looked at each other before bursting out with laughter again.

* * *

"Mum! Sirius found an apartment!" James announced once he, Sirius and Remus walked through the door. They found Dorea and Charlus, Dorea was cuddled into his side and they both looked quite depressed.

The boys sat down on another sofa and looked at them "Are you all right, mum?" James asked anxiously

Dorea gave him a strained smile "I'm just feeling a little under the weather, dear. I'll be fine" She reassured and heard Charlus give a small tut; he wanted to tell James and Sirius about her disease but she was adamant not too "Sirius, you realise I want you to come for tea every Sunday?"

"Of course, Mum" Sirius said "But you better have cake"

Dorea laughed lightly though it sounded like it pained her "I will, don't worry. So, when are you going to move out?"

"When my new apartment is furnished and liveable" Sirius answered "So it should be ready around next week, hopefully"

Dorea and Charlus nodded, Remus noticed that Charlus kept casting Dorea worried looks.

Flimpa walked into the room with a tray of snacks for the family, her stomach was flat again

"Hello, Flimpa" James, Sirius and Remus chorused

"Hello, Master James and Misters Sirius and Remus" Flimpa said "Flimpa hopes you enjoy the snacks Flimpa had prepared"

"I'm sure we will" Remus said with a smile

Flimpa bowed low and left the room

"Boys, what would you like for Christmas?" Dorea asked and Charlus averted his eyes

Sirius and James stared at her "Mum, you realise it's August, right?" James said and pushed his glasses back up his nose

Dorea nodded "I realised, I just thought that I would get your presents earlier this year" She said "Just in case" She added in a whisper to herself but both Remus and Charlus heard

Remus' eyes widened and her stared at Dorea for a few moments and noticed her tired expression, the sickly hue of her skin and the way it seemed to be wearing her. She was ill, Remus realised and he also realised that neither James nor Sirius knew and that Dorea was not going to tell them. Should he tell them? No, Remus scolded himself, this is a family matter... this isn't his business he should just forget about it. Dorea and Charlus will tell the boys when the time is right, when will that be though? Remus inwardly shook himself and absent-mindedly followed James and Sirius out of the room and up the stairs until they arrived at the Marauders room, they were going to be planning out certain details for the Start of Term Prank.

"Are you all right, Moony?" Sirius asked concernedly when he noticed that Remus' face was blank and he was not paying attention

Remus' eyes snapped towards Sirius who was looking at him with a tilted head and then to James who was frowning at him "What did you say?"

"Are you all right?" Sirius repeated

Remus smiled, although it was more of a grimace, "I'm fine, guys. I'm just tired" He reassured "Honestly, I'm fine!" Said Remus when he was met with unbelieving looks

"Whatever you say, Moony" James said "Now I think we should..."

* * *

Danny frowned as he read the latest list of deaths and disappearances in the Daily Prophet and threw down the newspaper. Denisa raised her eyebrows at him but said nothing while Lily had picked up the newspaper and was flicking through it. They were sat out on the grass in front of the lake with a large umbrella shading them from the sunlight. Neither one of them spoke as Lily put down the newspaper and they all stared out onto the rippling lake. Some days they could forget about the war and have fun but others it all came crashing back on them, reality that is. Danny was entering his fifth year and Lily along with Denisa would be in their seventh and final year and in all honestly Danny was terrified about what would happen after his sister and Lily left school; they would be sent out into a war zone, he had no doubt in his mind that both girls would want to fight and he just couldn't handle the thought of sitting at school and waiting for the black Ministry letter to arrive with a black owl and deliver him the news of their murders...

"School tomorrow" Lily said, breaking the silence "Have you two packed?"

Both Lily and Denisa knew that Danny was feeling this way, he had been having nightmares lately and he would shout in his sleep begging for his sister to be spared, begging for Lily to be spared.

"Yes" Danny whispered and watched the soft movements of the lake as the light wind blew at it

"I'm really excited for Seventh year," Denisa said "We have out N.E. , new Defence teacher, I'm quitting Divination and taking Herbology instead" Denisa rambled on and Lily nodded, she wasn't really listening and her green eyes were focused on Danny whose jaw was locked and was looking firmly at the gliding water.

"Danny..." Lily said softly "You don't need to worry. We have another year and neither Denisa nor I will try and get killed, lets just enjoy the last day of the summer holidays and try and forget the war"

Danny looked at her and his lips gave a small twitch "You're right, we should forget about it" He sighed heavily and gave the girls a real smile "Last one to the forest is a piece of dragon dung" Denisa and Lily grinned and the three of them got up before they set off running as fast as they could and lightly pushing the others to try and get ahead of the other.

* * *

**Dear Reader - I am so, so, so sorry for the three weeks and one day wait! My laptop got a bunch of virus' so nothing worked and I only just got it fixed a week ago so I wrote up this chapter as quick as I could. It's over 18,000 words so I hope that makes up for the wait. Also some Lames moments because everyone loves Lames moments - SB-JILY-KS**


	7. Head Pupils,Childish, New Dorm and Drunk

**Head Pupils, Childish****, New Dorm and Drunks**

Lily, Denisa and Danny casually leaned up against the wall between platforms 9 and 10, Kings Cross was as busy as ever as all types of Muggles rushed about so they could get to their trains. Slowly the three of them began to sink through the barrier and when they stepped through they emerged on to platform 9 and 3/4 where the scarlet Hogwarts Express was waiting in all its glory.

The three of them were already in their uniforms, Denisa had her Gryffindor tie tied loosely around her neck and her uniform was in its usual baggy state while Lily had hers tighter and she looked far more presentable with her uniform fitting her perfectly and her Head Girl badge polished and gleaming on her chest. Danny wore his Ravenclaw tie perfectly with his Prefect badge on his chest.

"Right, I'm off to find Tom" Danny said, he kissed Denisa and Lily on the cheeks before walking off abruptly and going over to talk to a fellow Ravenclaw classmate of his who was blonde.

Lily and Denisa walked around all the little children and finally managed to get on to the train, they found a compartment where Lily and Denisa put their baggage up and then Denisa took her seat while Lily stayed standing looking uncomfortable "I have to go lead the Prefects meeting" Lily said looking very apologetic

Denisa waved a dismissive hand and pulled out a novel called '_The Portrait of Dorian Gray_'_ by Oscar Wilde_ "It's fine, Lily" She said and opened the novel to a page she had bookmarked and Lily smiled slightly before leaving the compartment and walking off to the Prefects one.

Meanwhile Sirius and James were waiting outside on the platform with Dorea, whose skin had taken up a sickly yellow and grey hue, and Charlus, who kept sending his wife sad and worried looks. Dorea was fussing over the boys' uniforms; correcting their ties; fixing James' Head Boy badge; getting them to tuck in their shirts, etcetera.

"Honestly, Mum. You should go home, you too dad, mum you look really pale and ill you should go relax" James was insisting "I promise that Sirius and I will write to you the moment we get to the Dorms"

"But, darling you'll be in the Head Quarters, my precious Head Boy" Dorea said and let out a croak like squeal "I still can't believe _you_ got Head Boy!"

James pouted "Thanks for the vote of confidence, mum" He said sarcastically but he suddenly had a smile on his face "There's Moony and Wormtail!" James pointed behind Charlus where Remus and an extremely tanned Peter were walking towards them.

James hugged Charlus while Sirius leaned down to hug Dorea who was much shorter than him before the two swapped places "Write every week" Dorea said before she and Charlus Disapparated

"Wormtail, how are you?" Sirius asked worriedly "Did all the shopping with your mother and your aunt ruin you?"

Peter gave a small, humorless laugh "I'm all right, Padfoot. I- I see the world better now" He nodded sadly "Yes, after all those days in the dress shops and shoe shops and-" He shuddered "Lingerie stores"

Sirius was nodding sadly but when Peter said 'Lingerie stores' he looked slightly confused "But wouldn't that be good? I would love to see all the lovely lingerie" His eyes went misty as he began thinking about a certain someone in certain items of lingerie but he snapped himself out of it and focused his attention on Peter

Peter grimaced "It was a lingerie store for the older women" He said and gave another deep shudder "I will never un-see the things that I have seen"

James, Remus and Sirius gave small shudders and patted Peter on the back sympathetically "You're all right now, you're a survivor, Wormtail. You lived to tell the tale" Remus said comfortingly

Peter nodded then noticed the Head Boy badge that shined on James' chest below his Qudditch Captain badge "Holy shit" He muttered under his breath "I thought Moony was lying!" Peter exclaimed

James looked down at him badge and ran a hand through his hair looking slightly sheepish "I... I don't know what Professor Albus was thinking"

Peter frowned "Does this mean you wont prank with us any more?" Peter asked worriedly and Sirius looked fearful

James spluttered "Of course not! No badge, no one will ever stop me from pranking" James said indignantly

"Except his precious Evans" Sirius muttered to Peter and Remus and the three of them snickered while James sighed exasperated "Lets get a compartment" James said and took of while his 'friends' followed, still laughing.

They passed a compartment full of giggling fifth year girls then one full of Slytherins and then one that had a cluster of small, tiny even, first years who were talking excitedly about Houses and what they thought the Sorting would be like, Sirius popped his head in to tell them what spells to use against the troll they would be fighting "Honestly, a stunning spell may not work so try to blind it" Sirius had said and a then left the first years to whimper and worry about the upcoming battle against the troll while Remus shook his head at Sirius. Finally they found an empty compartment where they stowed their luggage, James then turned to Remus "We should get to the Prefects compartment" James said

"Do you even know where it is, Prongs?" Remus asked

"Course I do, remember when Padfoot and I set off Dungbombs in there?" James said dismissively and then turned to Peter and Sirius who were looking forlorn "We'll be back soon" James looked at Sirius sadly as though parting from him for even a second would be torture for the both of them.

Sirius was pouting and his eyebrows were furrowed "I don't want you to go" He said stubbornly "I will not let you go!" And with that announcement Sirius attached himself to James' legs, his own legs were wrapped tightly around James' as well as his arms which were around James' knees. James struggle to stay on his feet as he swayed at the weight leaning on one side of his body

"Padfoot" James said warningly "Padfoot I- I-" But whatever James was about to say was never discovered as he tipped over to the left, where Sirius was attached, and fell with a thud on top of Sirius who groaned in pain while James let out a loud "Ouch!"

Peter was watching the two of them with great amusement while Remus was looking bored, though a small twitch of his lips said otherwise, and impatient "Hurry up, Prongs! The prefects and Head Girl are probably waiting!"

James stood up and rubbed his ribs "I'm coming, Moony, no need to get snarky" He said and followed Remus out of the compartment

Sirius seemed to be satisfied with their very... close goodbye as he propped himself up on to his seat and spread his legs out in front of him while Peter shook his head, he was completely used to these strange displays of closeness between James and Sirius; sometimes you could just see James run up and hug Sirius at random times, occasionally in Transfiguration and Charms, and other times you could see Sirius just let out a long string of curses at James before hugging him extremely tightly around the neck until he would go a terrible puce colour.

Lily sat down in the roomy Prefects compartment which had long seats as well as a small table. She greeted the fifth, sixth and seventh year Ravenclaw prefects as they walked in, including Danny, and then the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, except for a missing male seventh year prefect, and finally the Slytherins who looked none to happy about having a Gryffindor Muggle-born Head Girl and greeted her with glares, snarls and narrowed eyes, yet they Head Boy had still not arrived, true he had another five minutes to get here but Lily preferred punctuality.

The prefects chattered with each other while Lily sat and occasionally stole glances at her watch; three minutes left; one minute left; thirty seconds left; twent-

The compartment door was flung open and Remus John Lupin walked into the compartment as though the most natural thing to do was walk into a room full of prefects, red and sweaty with dishevelled clothes from running. However, what followed was completely abnormal. James Charlus Potter, Marauder, Prankster, trouble maker and the last person you would expect to become Head Boy walked into the compartment, his unruly hair as unruly as always, his hazel eyes glittering, his glasses slightly lower on his nose than normal, his tie loose, his two badges pinned perfectly to his chest. He grinned at everyone as he walked in "What?" He asked when he saw everyone staring at him "I'm not late, actually I'm-" He checked his gold watch that his parents had sent him for his seventeenth birthday "Ten seconds early" Then he took his seat next to Lily who was watching his every move with a calculating look "Oh, yeah I'm the Head Boy this year, shocker, I know. But what can you do, everyone says Dumbledore is a bit of a nutter, and I agree, but he has never been wrong. Believe me I was just as confused as you all were when I found out, but what can you do?" Every one except Remus and Danny were silent and staring while the two of them were laughing loudly at the expressions on some of their faces, especially the Slytherins who looked as though they had just swallowed a mangy old sock they found at the bottom of their trunk.

"All right, Evans?" James asked happily when he noticed she was staring at him with her green eyes slightly wider and her mouth agape.

In all truth Lily thought James would be the perfect Head Boy; lots of students looked up to him; he was very intelligent, one of the smartest in the school; he was kind; he was funny; he was fair and Dumbledore picked him and Lily knew that Dumbledore would never pick anyone less than perfect "I'm fine, Potter" Lily said with a smile which he returned and suddenly something erupted in Lily's stomach as she looked at his perfect, slightly lopsided, smile. "Do you want to start?"

"Sure, Evans" James said happily and turned to the prefects and noticed their faces "It's not _that_ unbelievable!" James said slightly hurt

Lily patted James on the shoulder lightly "It is" She said simply and turned towards the prefects and clicked her fingers in front of their faces, effectively snapping them out of their trances "What the hell is wrong with you people? Close your mouths and focus!" Lily snapped and the prefects closed their gaping mouths and listened as James and Lily gave instructions and organised the next meeting, for next Friday, and then James happily informed the Slytherin prefects that they were going to do the first shifts of patrolling to which they replied with glares and grunts.

James smiled at Lily "I think that went well" He said

Lily nodded and looked up at him and noticed the kind, hazel eyes beneath the glass lenses of his glasses before she quickly looked down at her feet, her face becoming a soft pink, "Yes, it went well. I-I should go, Denisa is probably waiting for me" Lily said hurriedly and rushed out of the compartment; James frowned as her dark red hair whipped out of sight and he turned towards Remus and Danny who were sharing jokes and laughing

"Did you see Ratburns face?" Remus choked out and then howled with laughter and Danny did an impression of Ratburn's face.

James raised an eyebrow "What are you doing?" He asked as Danny scrunched up his face

Danny blinked at him "I'm obviously pretending to be Ratburn" Danny said as though it was clear "Well, I'm off" He stood up and dusted off his robes before smiling at the Remus and leaving the room

"Lets go to our compartment, I expect poor Padfoot's probably pissing Peter off, Wormtail has been through to much for someone so young" Remus said as he stood up and walked out of the compartment with James following close behind, they stopped to buys some food from the trolley that was passing through, they bought a variety of sweets before walking into their compartment. Sirius was sitting on Peter's back with his fingers in his ears and shouting "LALALALALA" very loudly, upon noticing the arrival of two of his best friends he smiled "HELLO!" Sirius shouted with his fingers still in his ears while James and Remus sat down "WORMTAIL HERE WAS TRYING TO TELL ME ABOUT THE HORRORS OF ELDERLY LINGERIE, I HAD TO PUT A STOP TO IT SOMEHOW!"

James and Remus exchanged looks and pulled Sirius off of a now quite red Peter "What in Merlin's toenail was that for, Padfoot?" Peter asked as he massaged his back

Sirius looked affronted "You were trying to put nasty images of wrinkly old pensioners in sexy red lingerie in my head! What did you expect me to do?!"

Peter scoffed but said nothing and sat with his arms folded and a scowl on his face. "Wormy, it's okay. We wont let mean ol' Padfoot sit on you again" James said and Peter's scowl loosened slightly.

Lily walked into the compartment, where Denisa was still reading Dorian Gray, and took a seat across from her "Dee, I have a very, very big problem"

Denisa did not speak, she put a red bookmark in between two pages, put the novel away, straightened her robes then looked at Lily with a questioning look "Well, what is it?"

Lily let out a strangled noise and quickly said "I've forgotten"

Denisa sighed, she of course knew what Lily was supposed to say; Lily was meant to say that she secretly held deep feelings for James Potter and that she wished to marry him and fly away on his broomstick, but Lily Marie Evans was a stubborn girl and to admit that she, somewhere deep inside her, like James.

"Okay, Lily. However, if you do remember please come and talk about it, don't ignore it" Denisa said

"I promise" Lily said

"Good, now did you bring me any Bertie Botts?" Denisa asked and she gave Lily a wide smile when Lily pulled out a box of Bertie Botts out of her cloak pocket, Denisa tore it open and took hold of a lime green bean which was the flavour of chocolate "So, who is the Head Boy?" Denisa said and put another bean into her mouth

"Potter" Lily answered and dodged as the bean Denisa had put in her mouth flew out of it and towards Lily

"Sorry, Lily, I think I did not hear you properly, surely James Potter, a Marauder and someone who has pranked the school many a time, is not Head Boy?"

"Actually he is" But it wasn't Lily who said it, it was James who was stood at the compartment door, Sirius, Remus and Peter stood behind him, Lily who had just taken a bite of a chocolate frog choked on it when she saw James and Denisa leaned over to pat her on the back.

"Hello, James" Denisa said "Do come in" She gestured with her hand the empty seats

The boys shuffled in and Denisa and Lily hugged Peter who they had not seen since the end of the school year "How are you?" Lily asked

"I'm absolutely glad to be back in England" Peter said

Lily chuckled "Oh yes, Remus has told me about your time in France, I hope you accept my sympathies. I remember when my mum and sister made me go wedding dress shopping" Lily gave an almighty shudder "It was awful" She whispered to herself mostly and then had a faraway look in her eyes

Denisa shook her head in amusement "She never did tell me what happened, says it was unspeakable" Denisa said with a small smile

Sirius and Peter had sat down next to her while James and Remus sat down next to Lily, both girls were against the windows Peter was on Denisa's left followed by Sirius while James was on Lily's right and Remus next to him. Lily was sitting as far away from James as she could and Denisa frowned at her in confusion

"Sirius, have you moved into your flat?" Lily asked

Sirius smiled brightly "Yeah, spent the last week there but Mum made me come to dinner every night"

"She misses you" James said with an eye role "Merlin knows why, I was happy to be shot of you"

Sirius glared at him but the effect was ruined by the small smile tugging at his lips "Only because she loves me more than you" Sirius said and stuck his tongue out and James laughed and ruffled his hair, Lily watched the movement waiting for the annoyance to set in but it never did; she frowned and turned to look out of the window at all the grass and trees.

Denisa had pulled out '_Dorian Gray_' again while Remus was reading a book on Offensive and Defensive spells, Lily was looking out of the window while Peter was reading the back of a 'Merlin' Chocolate Frog card, Sirius and James were having a fast paced Exploding Snap game, Sirius' eyebrows were singed off while some of James' hair was at odd lengths and smoking slightly, butt both boys were laughing raucously and joyfully as they snapped the cards together.

Lily looked around the compartment and smiled at everyone, they all looked so happy as though there was no Voldemort, no war, as though people weren't dying everyday. She couldn't believe she was going to be entering her seventh year; it all seemed to have gone so quickly.

She wondered what was going to happen to everyone, Peter would surely get some job in the Ministry as an assistant or something, James and Sirius had said they wanted to be Aurors; Lily knew they would be great, James was an excellent leader and they both knew a vast amount of spells and they duelled magnificently, Denisa too had an ambition to become an Auror but she had confided in Lily and said that she was thinking about getting a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures; she wanted to work her way up and get Werewolves and Half-humans rights; Denisa and Lily were close to Hagrid who they knew was a half-giant and they hated the thought of the discrimination that he would have towards him if anyone found out and Denisa wanted to help people like Remus who were inflicted with Lycanthropy; Denisa also had aspirations to get House Elves some form of rights she knew they didn't want to be freed and respected that but she knew that Slinky had been abused by her earlier Masters and she knew that many elves suffered the same treatment and Denisa wanted to help them. Lily knew she wanted to be a Healer, she had always wanted to be a Healer. When she was a girl she had always wanted to become a Doctor, she wanted to help people and when she was introduced to the magical world she learned about Healers and she aspired to become one, Lily immediately felt saddened when she thought of what would happen to Remus, because of his Lycanthropy he would have trouble getting a job and most hirers would refuse to even interview him.

Lily looked over at Remus with his hair that had a few grey hairs and his two scars on his cheek were standing out to her clearly and she felt a rush of anger towards the werewolf who had bitten him, who had caused him all this grief and pain so young in life, she loved Remus, he was a brother to her in all but blood, as were Sirius and even little Peter. It was with James that her feelings got conflicted, she had no idea how she felt for him. At times he could be a real prat but he had changed, at the beginning of Sixth year he had started to change, he became mature. Lily watched as he laughed at Sirius who had ash all over his face and no eyebrows, his laugh seemed to captivate her; it was like music to her ears, filling her with happiness and she noticed things she never really noticed before like how James had slight dimples in his cheeks, the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled showing that he had laughed many times, his glasses never seemed to lay at the top of his nose but lower and he often had to push them up, his eyes seemed to gleam with happiness and mischief constantly, his hair was black, not dark brown but black and it stuck up everywhere but it suited him and Lily found herself cringing at the thought of him with manageable hair. James suddenly turned towards her and smiled and Lily found herself smiling back at him and James' smile widened and then he looked back at Sirius who was fixing his eyebrows with his wand and muttering darkly under his breath, much like his mothers elf, Kreacher, does.

Denisa put down her book and looked at Sirius, who had managed to get back one of his eyebrows but he still looked ridiculous, Denisa laughed into her palm and Sirius raised his only eyebrow at her "Is something funny, Denisa Wilson?" He asked politely while Denisa laughed harder at the eye brow and Lily along with James too began laughing and when Peter looked at him he snorted loudly and gave a giggle while Remus shook his head and laughed into his book

"Sorry" Denisa said but didn't stop laughing "I- It's t-too fu-funny" Denisa held on to her stomach and forced her self to stop laughing she then pulled out her Rosewood wand and pointed it at Sirius' face, his other eyebrow appeared immediately after she said a quick incantation

"Thanks, Nisa" Sirius said and gave her a smile and then stood up "Moony, Wormtail, Prongs, shouldn't we be planning our L.S.O.Y.P?"

Remus, Peter and James stood up quickly and nodded "Of course, Padfoot. Almost forgot" James said looking slightly nervous, an emotion James seldom felt or looked

"L.S.O.Y.P?" Lily said, she had a look of confusion on her face

"Last-Start-Of-Year-Prank" Peter said then added "Padfoot thought of the name" Denisa and Lily nodded and the boys left while talking to each other under their breaths

"I can't believe it's going to be their last S.O.Y.P!" Lily said

"I know, remember the first S.O.Y.P? In Second year, when they put Ageing Potions in all the food when they had sneaked of to the Kitchens before dinner and everyone either aged greatly or became younger"

"The Slytherins became toddlers, the Ravenclaws became extremely old, the Hufflepuffs became babies, the Gryffindors became adults while the Professors varied, I never could get the image of Professor McGonagall as a toddler out of my head" Lily said with a little laugh as she remembered the small child with black hair tied into a tight bun, her lips tight and her robes and hat much to big for her so she stumbled all the way to the Marauders

"Or Slughorn as a baby" Denisa snickered at the image, Slughorn had been a strange-looking baby

"Or Flitwick extremely old" Lily added "God, do you remember Dumbledore as a baby?"

Denisa nodded with large smile "Remember Lucius Malfoy as a toddler, and Snape and Mulciber and Avery!" Denisa smiled at the memory "That was a lovely day, the feast was excellent too" Denisa looked out of the window, it was extremely dark outside and they were nearly at Hogsmeade

Lily suddenly looked sad "I can't believe this is our last year" She said

Denisa whipped round to face Lily and pointed her finger at her "NO! Bad Lily! We will not be thinking about that"

Lily gave out a small, short laugh "Okay, Okay" She put her hands up in surrender "They better have a good prank this year..." Lily said and Denisa nodded in agreement.

The train slowed down gradually before finally coming to a halt. The students of Hogwarts shuffled off of the train and James along with Lily walked over to the group of First year that were waiting, James was already there "All right midget's" James began but Lily slapped his arm "I mean - er - tiny new students, you'll be travelling by boat so go over to Hagrid" James said and pointed over at Hagrid who was standing with a large lantern that illuminated his face eerily, at least half his face was in the shadows while the other side was lit up showing his black eyes and mane of hair and his large, black beard "As he will be taking you to the school"

"Firs' years over 'ere!" Hagrid bellowed, the scared first years looked up at the half-giant and slowly made their way over

"Potter, you cannot call first years midget's!" Lily said as they walked over to the Thestral drawn carriages, they were both in the shadows so James didn't see the small smile on Lily's face

"Why not?" James said "They are freakishly tiny,_ I_ certainly wasn't that small when I was a first year"

"I agree that they are strangely small, Potter, but you can't call them midget's!" Lily said "And you were shorter than me when we were first years"

James raised his hands in defeat "Fine" He ran his hand through his black locks and straightened his glasses though they slipped back down slightly "And I was not shorter than you!"

"Yes you were"

The last carriage held Denisa, Remus, Sirius and Peter who were waiting for them, James hopped on to the carriage and extended a hand for Lily who took it, much to every ones surprise especially James who nearly let go of her hand from the shock

"Thank you, Potter" Lily said and sat in the middle of Denisa and Peter, Peter was watching her strangely as were Sirius and James but Remus and Denisa exchanged knowing looks and a small smile.

They soon arrived at Hogwarts and they all walked in together but the boys disappeared mysteriously, Denisa and Lily frowned in confusion as they had just been their "Oh God! Is that a rat?" Denisa gasped and pointed towards a fat rat that just turned the corridor, its worm-like tail whipped out of sight. Lily and Denisa hurried off quickly and blended in with the other students that were all pushing and shoving into the Great Hall, it would take at least ten or fifteen minutes to get in.

Sirius transformed into Padfoot as he ran while James and Remus struggled to keep the Invisibility Cloak over them and Peter scurried behind as Wormtail they made a sharp turn and James nearly tripped over Remus' foot "Careful Prongs!" Remus hissed. They climbed up a staircase and Peter narrowly missed falling threw a trick step.

They finally reached the portrait of the bowl of fruit and James quickly tickled the pear which giggled and let them in. The elves were rushing around the kitchen and none stopped to greet them, Remus pulled out several potions from his pockets, they each had a label with Remus' handwriting stating what the potion was. Four long tables were set up with food and the boys got to work, Remus passed around the potions "Don't put it in all the food, Padfoot. We don't necessarily want people to starve" Remus had said to which Sirius replied "I wouldn't mind seeing Snivellus Snape starve or any of the other stuck up Slytherins".

"Okay, Moony will do Ravenclaw, Padfoot can do Hufflepuff, I'll do Gryffindor and Wormtail can do Slytherin" James said decisively and they set off towards the individual tables, carefully dripping potions in several dishes of food.

"Have you got the fireworks we made, Padfoot?" Remus asked. They had spent a lot of the summer perfecting these fireworks using Potions, Transfiguration and Charms. It took a lot of seemingly unnecessary work but the Marauders did not care in the slightest as this would be the last and most grand start-of-year-prank.

"Of course, Moony" Sirius said in a slightly offended voice "What do you take me for?" Remus didn't reply

They were finally done after about seven minutes and they ran out of the kitchens, Sirius and Peter immediately transformed and James and Remus hid under the invisibility cloak. They ran down the stairs, skipped over the trick step, down the corridor, turned and stopped before giving another turn, James stowed the Cloak and Peter and Sirius took up their natural forms. They slowly blended in with the small crowd and walked into the Great Hall where they took their seats at the end nearest to the Teachers table at the Gryffindor table. "Do you remember the spell for the ceiling?" Peter whispered

"Yes, Wormtail, do you?" James asked in a whisper

"I wrote it down" Peter said with a nod and he pulled out a small slip of paper where an incantation was written

"Are you guys nervous?" Sirius asked

"I feel like my heart is going to explode" Remus said "What if everything goes wrong? What if the fireworks are lousy, what if the potions don't work, what if the spells don't work or they do the wrong thing!" Remus was taking deep, shallow breaths "Everything is going to go wrong, I can feel it, I can feel it in my blood, in my bones. This will be the end to our pranking careers" Remus took a shuddering breath "The Marauders will be a joke. Everything is going to go wrong" Remus whined slightly

James' eyes widened "It will not go wrong, will it?" He looked at his friends frantically "Will it?" He said fearfully

Sirius looked slightly amused as he shook his head forcefully "No it will not, you know why? Because we are the Marauders, we live to prank. In future years the legends of the Marauders will be told by many, and it will be wonderful! Teachers will dare not speak our names in case a pupil decides to follow in our large, paw like footsteps" Sirius grinned "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs will always, _always _be up to no good and _they do not fail_"

James nodded slightly reassured but his eyes were still slightly wide with fear "Padfoot is right, we can do this. We're probably the smartest students in the school nothing is going to go wrong"

They boys fell silent as McGonagall marched into the Hall with a large group of about forty to fifty First years trailing behind her, each looking around the hall in fascination and fear and all of them seemed to be looking for something, Sirius suspected that they all were looking for the troll. McGonagall stopped next to a stall where the old Sorting Hat sat lifeless and a moment later its mouth parted and it broke into song about the four founders of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff and about House Unity. Several first years had caught Sirius' eyes and glared at him and he merely smiled warmly at them while giving them small waves

"Andrews, Julia" McGonagall said and a small girls with blonde pig tails walked up and sat on the stool before the Sorting Hat was placed on her head and a few moments later the hat called out

"RAVENCLAW" The sorting took a while before finally Zeffer, Drew was sorted into Hufflepuff. The hall was silent for a few moments and several people turned to look at the Marauders waiting for the prank but the boys were watching Dumbledore who stood up and every ones eyes snapped to the Headmaster who smiled at his students with his twinkling blue eyes

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts, or your first year at Hogwarts" Dumbledore said joyfully "Mr Filch had asked me to remind you that magic is not allowed in corridors and a new list of banned objects is on his door" Dumbledore's eyes found the Marauders and they seemed to twinkle more "Quidditch try outs will start on the second week of September while the Quidditch season starts at the beginning of October with a match against Slytherin and Gryffindor. We have a change of staffing this year we welcome Professor Georgia Whitewood who will be our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher" He motioned towards a woman sat next to Slughorn with grey hair and brown eyes, she was short and plump with a kind face and seemed like the last person to be a DADA teacher, Whitewood nodded her head respectively at the applause "The Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden" Once again Dumbledore's eyes shifted to the Marauders who merely smiled "Now this years Head Boy and Girl" Dumbledore seemed extremely happy and a large smile was on his face and his eyes twinkled with amusement and, was it? Mischief "Our Head Girl is from Gryffindor, Lily Evans" The hall burst with applause especially from the Gryffindors, Lily had gone pink as Denisa made her stand up. When they applause died down Dumbledore chuckled slightly and said "Our Head Boy for the year, also from Gryffindor, is James Potter" The prefects who already knew this clapped, as did the Marauders and Denisa along with Lily. The Gryffindors soon joined in followed by Hufflepuff then Ravenclaw while the Slytherins, except the first years Sytherins and a few second and third years, remained silent "Those are all the announcements for tonight and I expect that you are all hungry, dig in" With those words the food the Elves had prepared appeared but no one moved but stared at the Marauders who were eating happily, they had made sure their end of the table had no potions. The students of Hogwarts seemed assured as they soon started eating too.

It all happened at once, a group of Hufflepuff fourth year girls spouted hairy chins and another group of Ravenclaw sixth years became incredibly sleepy, Snape had started to yodel, Mulciber was dressed as a fairy, two Gryffindor third years had 'fallen in love', Denisa was currently a toddler and was grinning, a Hufflepuff was dancing, a group of Gryffindors were pretending to play instruments like the piano, guitar, trumpet and violin, but after about two or three minutes of chaos all the effects reveresed, the forth years lost the hair, the Ravenclaw sixth years woke up, Snap stopped yodeling, Mulciber was back in his uniform, the two Gryffindor third years were no longer in love, Denisa was her normal age, a Hufflepuff stopped dancing and the group of Gryffindors were no longer playing air instruments.

The empty golden goblets, plates, knives, forks and spoons then sprung up and began doing somersaults and started doing a dance number where the cutlery started doing the tango while the plates bowed down to the plates and they began doing the waltz, they all circled around the hall as though in a ballroom before they stopped dancing and formed a large 'M' then fell back to the tables silently.

Suddenly a very loud bang sounded and a gigantic eagle made of fireworks flew over the Ravenclaw table it swooped over the heads of the Ravenclaw students, it gave a loud squawk and carried on flying over the table, a great python was slithering over the Slytherin table, purposefully gnashing its sharp teeth at students, mainly Snape, a black and white chubby badger walked over the Hufflepuff table happily, several of the Hufflepuff students reached out to touch it but their hands fell through the sparks and then a roar was heard as a mighty brown lion with a large dark brown mane moved elegantly across the Gryffindor table it roared again when it reached Denisa and Lily showing off its large canines, the Marauders muttered a spell and then the enchanted ceiling flashed canary yellow and black, scarlet and gold, blue and bronze and green and silver over and over. The Hogwarts crest made of fireworks was hovering high over the Head table but it was missing its animals, the lion, badger, snake and eagle reached the end of their tables and then jumped into their respective places on the crest effectively completing it, the crest glowed bright then brighter, and brighter as it moved over to hover above the tables before exploding with a small pop and showering the Great hall with star-shaped sparks.

The hall was silent for a moment before Dumbledore stood up and began clapping joyfully, McGonagall followed his lead as did Flitwick, Sprout and the other teachers including Whitewood, Lily and Denisa stood up too and the Gryffindors followed suit as did the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, even about half of the Slytherins stood up and clapped. James and Sirius stood up on the table, pulling Remus and Peter with them, and bowed at the applause before hopping back off of the table and returned to eating their glorious food.

"I think that went well" Remus said "I honestly don't know what you were all so worried about"

"Shut up, Moony" James said "You big git, you were hyperventilating"

"Right, so when are we going to start planning for the Halloween prank?" Sirius asked and the boys began pitching in ideas

"That was... amazing" Lily said and then put a forkful of lasagne in her mouth, she had a dazed expression and her eyes kept flickering to where the Marauders were huddled together talking "They are probably planning their next prank" Lily had an amused and affectionate smile as she said this

Denisa laughed "It was more than amazing, and I definitely wouldn't put it past them" Once they and the rest of the hall were done and the food disappeared. Lily and James had to go to a meeting with Dumbledore and Remus was off to help take the Gryffindor First Years to the common room and show them the fastest ways there.

Denisa, Sirius and Peter set off together to the common room "It feels weird" Peter said "Being without Prongs, Moony and Lily" Sirius nodded silently

"He is not going to be sleeping in our dorm any more" Sirius said spitefully "He's going to be sleeping in the Head Dorm with Evans"

Denisa suddenly stopped "Shit" She said "What am I going to do without Lily? How am I going to refrain from killing two of my dorm mates" She thought of the two girls, Lana and Sandra, and shuddered "Do you guys know anywhere for me to hide the bodies?"

Peter laughed "Try the Room of Requirement" He suggested with a small grin "Or just throw them in the Black Lake"

"I will keep those in mind" Denisa said and looked at Sirius who had remained silent after his one sentence "Are you okay, Sirius?"

He didn't reply "Pete, you go ahead I'm going to have a word with your friend" Denisa said and Peter nodded

"I'll see you in the Common Room" Peter said before walking away, when he turned the corridor Denisa took hold of Sirius' arm and turned him to face her

"What is wrong with you?" Denisa said slightly frustrated at his childish brooding

Sirius regarded her coolly "Nothing" Sirius said "What makes you think something is wrong?"

"You had not spoken in about ten minutes," Denisa replied just as coolly "That was probably your record. Now tell me what is wrong"

Sirius glared at her "Nothing" He snapped and didn't release eye contact

Denisa didn't even flinch at his harsh tone and stared at him with a slightly bored expression "You cannot think that James is always going to be around, Sirius, he is going to get married one day and have kids, he is not going to share a dorm room with you forever!" Denisa said with a sigh

"I _know_ that!" Sirius said angrily "_You_ don't need to tell me!"

"You are being an annoying child, Sirius" Denisa snapped

"And you are being a clueless bitch!" Sirius spat, his eyes widened when he realised what he had just said and then a resounding smack was heard as Denisa's hand collided with Sirius' cheek and she turned and ran away. Sirius frowned as he touched his stinging cheek and chased after her "Wait! Nisa! _Denisa_, wait!" Sirius called behind her and carried on running to where he thought she was but Denisa had disappeared. Sirius sighed as he leaned against the wall before slowly dropping his body to sit on the floor. He heard sniffling coming from the broom closet across from him and Sirius slowly sat up and made his way to the broom closet before flinging the door open. Denisa was sitting on the floor, tears were streaming down her cheeks consistently and she didn't move, speak or even look up when Sirius opened the door. Sirius immediately felt an extreme rush of guilt for his actions and angry at himself. He crouched down next to her "I didn't mean it, Nisa" Sirius whispered

Denisa didn't reply.

"Honestly, I was just pissed off and I took it out on you when I shouldn't have" Sirius said

She said nothing

"_Please,_ Nisa..." Sirius said desperately "Please talk to me" Denisa looked at him and another rush of guilt entered him as he looked into her watery, bloodshot brown eyes; her cheeks were pink and her lips were wet from the tears "I am so, _so sorry_" Sirius whispered and Denisa nodded and wiped her face with her sleeve but fresh tears leaked out of her eyes and down her cheeks. Sirius wanted to pull her to him and just hold her but he thought he would just receive another slap

"I know you're sorry" Denisa said in a voice so quiet it was almost not heard by Sirius "And I know you don't want James to be taken away from you but you still have Remus and Peter in your dorm and you can see James any time you want. I however have four other room mates, two of them I hate more than anything and the other two I have never actually had a full conversation with"

Sirius nodded "I know, I am the worlds biggest git. I- James is my brother, Nisa, and I have already lost all of my blood relatives... I just don't want to lose James too" His voice cracked slightly "I don't want to lose _anothe_r brother. I've already lost Reg." He shook his head "_Regulus_" He corrected "And I miss him _everyday_ and I want to talk to him- but I _can't_. I can't lose James"

Denisa looked at him "James would never leave you, not if he had a choice. You two are so close, biological or not biological, you two _are_ brothers and you always, _always_ will be" Denisa said softly and looked at his left cheek that was glowing dark pink "I'm sorry about the slap"

Sirius waved a dismissive hand before standing up and offering a hand to her which she accepted and he pulled her up "It's nothing, I deserved it" Sirius smiled "Do you want a hug?" He asked and Denisa nodded before he wrapped one arm around her back and one around her waist while she had both around his neck.

They stayed like that for a long while in silence until Denisa broke it "You really are an arse hole" She muttered into his shoulder and he just laughed and hugged her slightly tighter

* * *

Lily and James made their way to the Headmasters office silently however, both hated awkward silences more than anything "I liked the prank" Lily said to break the ice

James' face broke out into a large smile "Really?" James asked and Lily nodded in reply "Thanks, it did take a lot of planning. We made the fireworks ourselves and we had to research a lot of spells in the Potter library"

"What spells did you use?" James grinned as he went into great detail of all the incantations and potions they had needed and Lily asked questions here and there.

"Do you know the password?" Lily asked as they approached the stone gargoyle

"No, but we can guess - er - Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans?" James said "Blood pops? Iced Mice? Chocolate Frogs?"

Lily had stared incredulously at James but when the stone gargoyle suddenly revealed steps she just smiled and shook her head. James strode up the stairs the same way he had done many, many, many times before but today it was for a different reason, he was not in trouble. James confidently knocked on the door while Lily stood behind him waiting. A quiet "Come in" Was heard and they walked in. Professor Dumbledore was sat behind his large desk, the portraits on the wall were snoozing silently or probably not at all, odd silver trinkets were scattered on surfaces around the room and a beautiful phoenix with red and gold plumage was watching the visitors.

"Already, huh? Classes haven't even started and you're already here. Honestly, in my day you would have gotten more than a measly detention" The portrait of Phineas Nigellus said "I see my great-great-great grandson is not with you"

James smiled up at the portrait "Actually, I am not in trouble" He said proudly "I am here because I am Head Boy"

Phineas Nigellus eyed him carefully and then the badge that glimmered on his chest before huffing and storming out of his frame and going to the one situated in number 12 Grimmauld Place. James grinned and then plopped on to one of the armchairs and looked at Dumbledore expectantly, Lily was sat in the other armchair and Fawkes watched her closely before flying over to sit on the arm of the chair. Lily looked surprised for a moment before stroking Fawkes' feathers.

"He seems to like you, Miss Evans" Dumbledore said quietly

"He is beautiful" Lily replied and Fawkes looked extremely proud

"Professor Albus, may I ask what we are here for?" James said and leaned back into the chair

"I am going to show you to your new dormitory" Dumbledore said "But first, I must tell you about certain privileges that you have as Heads; you have the ability to issue detentions and add and take away House Points, you have your own Heads Quarters and you have access to the Prefects Bathroom, the password is soap suds" Dumbledore smiled "I ask that you do not take these privileges for granted or use them to get revenge or annoy someone that you are not on friendly terms with" Dumbledore seemed to be saying this more to James "Now, let me take you to your new Heads Quarters" Dumbledore stood up and they all left the office. After about two minutes they arrived in front of a portrait of a beautiful she was dark skinned, her hair was black and frizzy and she had warm brown eyes she was also wearing the Ravenclaw Hogwarts uniform and a little Head Girls badge was pinned onto her chest, on her left was a boy with pale white skin, light blue eyes and a haughty look, he had dark blonde hair and had the Slytherin uniform, he had a Head Boy badge pinned on his chest. "Danielle Cater and Frank Locks, the first Heads" Dumbledore said then looked at the painting "Babbity" He said and the painting swung open to reveal a entrance, "I will be going now, you should change the password" Dumbledore smiled at Lily and James "Goodnight" Dumbledore then strode away, his white hair billowed slightly and his purple robes swished, he seemed to have a skip in his step and was humming to himself.

Lily and James looked at each other "What should we leave as the password?" Lily asked

"Evans and Potter are the hottest and most intelligent people in the school" James said promptly

"That is a pass sentence not word" Lily said and she fought the urge to roll her eyes "How about... Fireworks?"

"Fireworks?" James said as he looked at the portrait

"Well I don't know!" Lily said "It was the first thing that popped into my mind"

"Pun intended?" James said with a grin

"What pun?" Lily said irritably and scowled when James merely grinned at her "Just choose a bloody password, Potter"

James didn't stop grinning as he turned to the people in the painting who seemed extremely amused at the two "May I ask that you do not change this password until October?" James said, the Danielle and Frank nodded while Lily immediately began regretting her choice of letting James choose the password "Our password will be... Jily!" He said and Lily let out a groan of annoyance and regretted ever letting James choose the password "Thank you, Danielle, Frank" James then strode into the Head Quarters and Lily trailed behind him, they both stopped short when they walked in; from the entrance you could see there was a large room, not unlike the Gryffindor Common room; the walls were scarlet and there was a fireplace against the left wall, around the fireplace were three sofas and one armchair all of them were a dark red and had two or three gold pillows with red embroidered flowers, in the middle of the sofas there was a gold rug and above that was a large, rectangular coffee table; straight ahead from the entrance and a little to the left there was a staircase that led to two doors, to the right of it there were large windows framed by heavy red and gold curtains; on the right of the room there were two large desks stocked with quills, ink and parchment along with two armchairs in front of the desks and above each desk there were windows; the floorboards were dark brown.

"Merlin" James whispered while Lily muttered "Wow"

"This is all ours!" James said excitedly then ran up the stairs and then to to the door on the left that said 'James Potter - Head Boy' on a small, gold plaque, James grinned as he pushed the door open and revealed a big room with a king sized four poster bed against a golden wall, against the wall on the left there was a large wardrobe and dresser, on the right there was a door that led to a bathroom that he would be sharing with Lily, his bed sheets were a dark scarlet and there was a gold rug on the floor. A wooden shelf held many pictures of him and the Marauders and there were two moving posters of Puddlemere United, James' favourite Quidditch team, on the wall. James' trunk was situated in front of his bed with his broomstick lying on top of it. James grinned and walked out of his room and knocked on the door next to his, Lily immediately answered looking slightly overwhelmed and flustered "What does your room look like?" James asked and peered in

Lily's room had everything he did except that her walls and carpet were scarlet and her bed sheets were gold. Her shelf was full of pictures of her, her family, Denisa and Danny and even him and the Marauders. "I am so happy I got Head Girl now" Lily said "But I'm going to miss Dee"

James frowned "I'm going to go see Moony, Wormtail and Padfoot" He said and turned around to go back to his room

"How are you going to do that?" Lily asked as she followed him. James said nothing but merely pulled a silvery cloak from his trunk and threw it over himself "You have an Invisibility Cloak?"

James removed the Cloak and grinned "Evans, how did you expect me and the boys to explore after hours?"

"But- But how did you get one? They are really rare!" Lily said amazed "Can I see it?" James nodded and handed the Cloak to her and Lily examined it

"I got it from my Dad, It's a family heirloom, it was in the family for generations" James explained "He gave it to me before first year"

Lily flung the Cloak over herself and gasped as she disappeared from sight, she took it back off and gave it to James "That is amazing, but I thought that Invisibility Cloaks don't last very long only a few years not generations!"

James shrugged "I don't know" He said unhelpfully "Do you want to go to the Gryffindor Common room?"

"All right, I want to see Dee anyway"

They walked down the stairs and out the portrait hole before James flung the Cloak over them, he had to crouch slightly so it would cover them fully, and they walked on the right hand side of the corridor and as close to the wall as possible. As they neared the Fat Lady they heard Mr Filch, the school Squib caretaker talking to his new kitten who he had named Mrs Norris "Now, my sweet, do you smell anyone? Any students out of bed when they shouldn't be? I remember the days where we could hang the misbehaving brats by their thumbs in the dungeons, it's too bad that old fool, Dumbledore, won't let me do it any more" Filch said mournfully as he walked past James and Lily, who were backed up tightly against the wall, with Mrs Norris sniffing the air as she walked behind him.

James and Lily sighed with relief as Filch turned the corridor and they walked up to the Fat Lady who was lightly snoring "Daisy roots" James said but the Fat Lady didn't even stir "Daisy roots" James said slightly louder but, again, the Fat Lady didn't move "Daisy roots!" James said in a loud voice while Lily looked around to make sure no one was coming and she was already regretting the decision of coming with James

"Why would you wake me up!" The Fat Lady said irritably while James merely scowled and inclined his head in thanks while Lily gave a meek "Thank you"

James ran up the stairs into the 'Marauders Dorm' where his three best friends were sitting cross legged on a carpet in the middle of the room, a box of Chocolate Frogs in the middle of them, two bottles of Firewhiskey charmed to refill and four empty glasses. They seemed to be waiting and all three of them looked up with a wide grin as James walked in "Prongs, took you long enough to get here" Peter said

"Yeah, honestly we were going to start without you" Sirius said

James laughed "How did you know I would be come here?"

"Prongs we know you better than anyone, as if you would break the tradition of getting drunk on Firewhiskey and eating Chocolate Frogs the night before lessons begin, we've been doing this since Fourth year" Sirius said as James plopped down in between Remus and Sirius, he was sat across from Peter.

Remus opened a bottle of Firewhiskey and poured a generous amount in each cup before each boy took one "Here is to our last year at Hogwarts" Remus said as he raised his glass

Peter knocked his glass against Remus' and held it there "To our successful L.S.O.Y.P."

"To the Marauders!" James said and put his glass against Remus' and Peter's with a clink

Sirius grinned "To our mischievousness, mayhem, misbehaviour, misconduct, moon cycles and rule breaking" When Sirius' glass clinked against the others they all pulled back their glasses and gulped down all the Firewhiskey in the glass.

Peter's face scrunched up while Sirius and James gave happy sighs of content and Remus refilled each glass.

Half an hour and many, many glasses of Firewhiskey later the Marauders were absolutely sloshed "It's not like I try to be annoying" Sirius was saying "I just consider it my duty to piss people off as much as I possibly can"

"But, Padfoot" Remus slurred with a smile and a wagging finger "Is it right to piss people off?"

Sirius looked dumbfounded as though he had never considered this "I don't know, I'm seventeen, Moonbeam, I deserve to have the privilege of pissing people off" He looked thoughtful for a moment "Especially the Slytherins and Professors" He giggled "You have not lived until you have seen Minnie give you a death glare while trying not to laugh" As Sirius talked the hand that held his glass of Firewhiskey opened and the glass smashed onto the floor while Peter laughed loudly "Shit!" Sirius said and started looking around for his wand that was lying in front of him "Now, I don't want to you all to panic, but I think, I think someone may have stolen my wand"

James gasped "Padfoot! That is thievery, we must find this person!" He stumbled as he stood up and looked around before pointing an accusing finger at Remus "Was it you, Mundane" James demanded "Was it?"

Remus stared at the finger "I- I don't recall" Remus said with a look of confusion on his face

James suddenly burst out laughing and slumped back onto the floor and pulled out his mahogany wand "_Reparo_" He said with a point to the broken glass shards that immediately fixed together to make a glass

"Merlin, Prongs. That was just like magic!" Peter said "Amazing"

James puffed out his chest proudly "Why thank you you Tailworm"

Remus had a blank stare as he began humming 'Here comes the sun' by the Beatles under his breath

James stood up and smirked before transforming into Prongs, a light brown stag with hazel eyes and dark brown markings around them for his glasses. He shook his antlered head and began stumbling about the room. Sirius and Peter grinned at each other before also transforming, Sirius into a large, black dog with grey eyes and Peter into a brown rat with watery blue eyes and a long worm- like tail. Prongs' antlers suddenly got caught in the hangings around Remus' four poster bed and Remus scowled deeply before getting up and trying to pull the severed material out of the brown antlers. "Transform" Remus muttered, not even noticing that Padfoot was drinking out of Remus' glass with his tongue while Wormtail was wedged in his own empty glass.

"What the hell?" A feminine voice said, Prongs' head whipped round effectively ripping apart the hangings and looked like a deer caught in headlights, Wormtail was still stuck in the glass while Padfoot had just looked up from the glass then returned to licking the contents and Remus looked like he didn't have any idea what to do. Lily and Denisa were standing there with identical looks of shock, Lily had been the one to speak

Remus stumbled forward "Er - you see I - er - Transfigured them because they were - er - annoying me" Remus said

Denisa narrowed her eyes "Really?" She asked disbelievingly "Transfigure me then"

Remus' eyes widened "No?"

"Remus, tell us what is going on now or so help me Merlin I will hex you" Lily said with a challenging look

Remus sighed deeply and sat down on his bed, Padfoot tumbled over and hopped up next to him before curling up and looking at him sadly, Prongs laid down at his feet while Wormtail, who had managed to finally get out of the glass, sat on Prongs' head. Denisa and Lily stood in front of him "When James, Sirius and Peter found out about my - er - condition they didn't care, they still treated me as the same old Remus and I was thankful for it. Little did I know they had researched ways to stay with me during a full moon and soon enough they discovered that animals could stay with Werewolves so they decided to become Animagi" This issued gasps and wide eyes from the girls but neither said anything "They stole books from Minnie and found some in the Potter library. By Third year they knew what their forms would be and November of Fifth year they finally were able to transform" Remus smiled slightly "They come with me every full moon to the Shrieking Shack and keep me company. My transformations used to be awful, Werewolves don't like to be confined and so Moony would get restless and I would bite and scratch myself. It would be so horrible and I would spend three or four days, sometimes more, in the Hospital Wing but ever since they started accompanying me I only need one day to recover, I have next to no injuries and Moony is a lot happier now that he has three friends to play with"

"They aren't Registered are they?" Denisa said and Remus shook his head "And they still did it for you?" Denisa smiled as Remus nodded "Isn't that the sweetest thing in the world?" She asked Lily

"That is- wow - I just" Lily said "The fact that they are risking Azkaban for you is so lovely, would you do that for me?" Lily asked Denisa

"Of course I would, Lils" Denisa said but her eyes were watching Padfoot "That dog looks really familiar" Denisa announced

Lily looked at Padfoot too before remembering Denisa's disastrous date "Merlin's balls, Sirius was that stray dog in Hogsmeade!"

Denisa's eyes widened as she looked down at Padfoot "Oh" She said dumbly "Well - er - it's late, I'm to bed" Denisa said and left the room quickly. Lily looked at Prongs expectantly and he transformed back to James which caused Lily to gasp in shock.

"We should go to" James said and said his good byes to his friends, Padfoot growled at him slightly and tried to make him stay but James managed to shake him off and threw the Cloak over himself and Lily before leaving.

Wormtail became Peter again and he, along with Remus quickly cleared the mess they had made, and went to bed. Remus waved his wand at the hangings around his bed and they quickly fixed themselves and he too got into bed. But Padfoot stayed up, curled into his sheets, and softly whined.


	8. SchedulePatronusPadfoot's DuelandPatrols

**Schedule, Patronus, Padfoot's Duel and Patrols**

Lily blinked at her surroundings, not knowing where she was until she realised she was in her new dorm, she smiled widely before getting up to get dressed for her first day of Seventh year. She quickly brushed her teeth and hair and washed her face before going downstairs. James was waiting for her, already dressed but his tie was untied and just hanging around his neck, "Potter, way to look presentable" Lily said sarcastically as she eyed his undone tie "You should tie that, Professor McGonagall will have a fit if she sees the Head Boy looking less than perfect, although she should have known you wouldn't look perfect, I mean, look at that nest you have on your head" Lily's green eyes trailed up to his black hair and she repressed the urge to run her fingers through the locks, James however, did not attempt to tie his tie, Lily raised an eyebrow "Well, Potter, fix it" Lily said as she took hold of her school bag and placed a inkwell, a few pieces of parchment and two eagle feather quills into it, when she was done she looked back at James and exhaled loudly when he still hadn't done his tie "Potter" Lily said

James looked sheepish "I don't know how to do it up" He said and at Lily's incredulous look he added hastily "I always mess it up! Moony normally does it for me"

Lily had a hand over her mouth as she tried to prevent herself from laughing "Well, you will just have to ask Remus in the Great Hall" She said with a giggle "I'm sure everyone would love to see that, especially the Slytherins. Oh, just imagine their faces" Lily grinned at the look of pure horror and devastation on James' face

James' eyes widened comically "What? No, Evans, please" He begged "I can't let people see Moony doing my tie for me! That would ruin my whole reputation, think of how happy this will make the Slytherins! Think Evans, think! We can't let them have this, Evaaaaaaaans, please" Lily kept an impassive face

"What will you give me in return?" Lily asked with a small grin

"Anything" James said loudly as he fell to his knees

Lily raised an eyebrow and removed hair that wasn't there from her face "Anything?" She said

"Anything." James affirmed with a solemn nod

"Anything?" Lily said again, for impact and for her own amusement as James looked close to crying

James sighed dramatically "Anything!" He said and placed his forehead onto the floor and clutched her robes

Lily smiled "All right then..." Lily thought for a moment "I need to think about what I want, I'll tell you later" She looked at James who was kneeling on the floor "Up, Potter" She said and he stood obediently before she started tying his tie she then tapped his cheek twice and swung her bag over her shoulder and James followed behind

"Thanks, Evans" He said "Would have been very embarrassing"

"I'm sure" Lily said and they walked into the Great Hall. Her eyes found Denisa who was reading 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen at the table. Lily said smiled at James and went to sit next to her best friend while James went to the end of the table where Sirius, Remus and Peter were sitting.

"Hey, Dee" Lily said and Denisa raised a hand at her but did not look up from her book "Since when do you read so much?"

Denisa folded the corner of her page and put the book in her bag "I don't know" Denisa said "It- It relaxes me"

Lily nodded and bit into a piece of buttered toast "So, did you miss me last night?" She asked with a raised eyebrow

"Yes" Denisa said honestly "It felt weird not hearing your pig like snores at night- OUCH - Lily!" Denisa rubbed her arm where Lily had just punched her "That bloody hurt"

Lily, who had just taken a bite of toast, laughed before promptly starting to cough loudly and Denisa patted her on the back "Ah, Karma... she really can be a bitch at times but, it is great when She is on your side, do you agree?" Denisa said wistfully

Lily scowled at her before noticing that Professor McGonagall was walking towards them to get their schedules "Miss Evans, any changes from your last schedule?" McGonagall asked

"No, I'm still doing Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Herbology" Lily said "And is it possible for me to sit the Muggle Studies test but not actually sit the lessons, since I am a Muggleborn I already know about the Muggle world"

"Yes, Miss Evans you will be able to sit the test" McGonagall said before pointing her wand at a piece of parchment and handing it to Lily who thanked her, McGonagall turned to Denisa "And you Miss Wilson?"

"Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Muggle Studies and Herbology" Denisa said "But I don't think I need to do the lessons for Muggle Studies"

"That is fine, Miss Wilson. You are giving up Divination?" McGonagall said

"I am sure you're glad about that, Professor, we all know your thoughts on the subject" Denisa said with a smile

"I don't hate the subject I just feel it is an unnecessary one, you either have the Sight or you don't. And I know you will and I am sure Miss Evans will help you too" McGonagall said and handed Denisa her time-table, who said 'Thank you' And walked up to the next students

Denisa grinned "She does hate Divination" Denisa said "And so do I" She added thoughtfully "Merlin knows why I carried on with it last year"

"I think it was because you couldn't think of anything else to choose" Lily said "By the way, the Heads Dorm password is 'Jily'" She said distastefully

Denisa raised her eyebrows and had a smile on her face "'Jily'?" She asked innocently "Your password is a mix of James and Lily? That is _adorable_, incredibly so. Now, who came up with that? Personally I like Lames better but Jily is fine with me"

Lily glared "Potter chose it" Lily answered simply "And he also asked the portrait not to change the password for a month" She added irritably "You know, when he does something like that it reminds me why I once disliked him"

"So now you don't dislike him?" Denisa said "Now, what would that mean. Oh, I know, that means you like him" Denisa said in a sing-song voice "You like James. Lily and James Potter, now that has a ring to it, don't you think?" Denisa giggled at Lily's bright red face "Oh my Merlin, you do!"

"No I don't" Lily insisted

"Oh but you do"

"Don't"

"Do" Denisa said with a grin

"Don't" Lily said, a deep scowl was on her face

"Do"

"Don't"

"Don't" Denisa smirked

"Do" Lily suddenly realised what she said as Denisa began cheering

"I win" Denisa said

"You win what?" Lily glared

"Whatever we were just doing" Denisa said then scrunched up her face in thought "Are you getting a sense of Deja Vu?"

Meanwhile at the Marauders end of the table Remus watched silently and amusedly as Sirius placed the twenty-fourth Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean into his mouth

"Come on, Padfoot" James said "Just six more and I win four galleons"

"Padfoot! No, you'll get ill. Prongs obviously doesn't care about your well-being" Peter said "Padfoot, don't!"

"Open up, Padfoot" James said, Sirius closed his mouth, his cheeks looked bumpy as he had so many beans in his mouth, and James started slipping beans through the two lips "Twenty- five, twenty- six, twenty- eight, twenty- nine th-" Sirius was shaking his head with wide eyes

"What on Earth is going on here!" McGonagall said in an appalled voice as she watched James feed Sirius beans

James grinned as he turned around to face her "Well, Minnie, as you can probably see I am trying to fit thirty Bertie Botts into Sirius' fat mouth" He said

"You can't just force feed, Mr Black, beans!" McGonagall said outraged

"Minnie, you have just seen me force feed Sirius beans yet you say I can't" James said with a small sigh

"Mr Potter need I remind you that you are Head Boy" McGonagall began

"No you needn't remind me that I am Head Boy" James said

McGonagall pretended that he did not speak "What sort of example are you setting for the younger students?"

"Obviously I am teaching them that force feeding your best mate Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans is fun" James said

McGonagall's lips twitched at the sides and she watched him for a moment before saying "Your schedule, Potter"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Ancient Runes, Herbology" He smirked "And, of course, Transfiguration"

McGonagall nodded curtly, waved her wand at a piece of parchment and wordlessly handed James his schedule, who loudly said 'Thank you, Minnie!', then turned to Remus "Mr Lupin?"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Ancient Runes, Herbology, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies and Astronomy" Remus answered

"Are you sure you will be able to handle all the work, Mr Lupin? Might I suggest that you do not take Muggle Studies as a lesson but merely sit the exam" McGonagall said

"Will that be allowed?"

"Yes, Miss Evans and Wilson are only sitting the exam and you are a Half-Blood with a Muggle mother, you probably know a lot about the Muggle world" McGonagall said and handed Remus his schedule "Thank you, Professor" Remus said

Sirius was spitting out the beans into a gold goblet so McGonagall passed onto Peter "Mr Pettigrew?"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures" Peter answered and took his new schedule "Thanks, Professor"

"Mr Black?" McGonagall said once Sirius had succeeded in removing all the beans from his mouth

"Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration, Potions, Muggle Studies, Astronomy and Ancient Runes" Sirius said and took his schedule from McGonagall "Thanks, Minnie"

McGonagall scowled at him "Don't call me that, Sirius Black or you will be in detention with Mr Filch every night for a week" She hissed and walked away

"I'm going to miss Minnie" Sirius said and the boys nodded in agreement "And I am one hundred percent sure she will miss us too, we are her favourite students after all" He added proudly

* * *

Denisa and Lily stood outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom waiting "I wonder what happened to Professor Stanley, Dumbledore never told us why he left" Denisa said

"I don't know, Dee. It's strange but we should have known he would leave, every DADA teacher we have ever had has left after a year. What can we do?" Lily said "So... What do you think of the new Professor?"

"Whitewood seems okay, not really the sort of person I would have thought would be a Defence teacher" Denisa said "But things aren't always what they seem. What do _you_ think of her?"

"I don't know... I mean we still haven't even had the lesson yet so..." Lily trailed off as James, Sirius, Peter and Remus made their way over

Lily watched as James ran his hand through his hair and she immediately blushed and looked towards Denisa who had raised her eyebrows at Lily. "What do you think we will be doing today?" Remus asked

"I honestly have no idea" Denisa said "Hopefully something practical"

Sirius nodded in agreement "I hate textbook work" He said

"Doesn't everyone?" Lily said with a dark red eyebrow raised

Whitewood suddenly appeared as she turned the corner and smiled widely when she spotted them waiting. She was a short and plump woman with short grey hair that stopped at her shoulders, she had kind, warm brown eyes and was wearing dark purple robes and a matching hat "Hello, I'm Professor Whitewood" She said in a kind voice "It's lovely that you arrived to the lesson a bit earlier" She added with a large smile "It really makes me feel like you want to learn" She gesture towards the door "You may go and sit down if you wish while we wait for the other student to arrive" She then walked through the doors and the Marauders plus Denisa and Lily followed, the Marauders sat at the back of the classroom while Denisa and Lily sat at the front. About two or three minutes after the rest of the class joined, there were about eight or nine Slytherins, including Mulciber, Avery and Snape, there were about the same amount of Ravenclaws and there were six Hufflepuffs and eight Gryffindors including the Marauders and Denisa, they were two of Denisa's dorm mates.

Professor Whitewood stood at the front of the classroom "As you all know, I am Professor Whitewood and I will be teaching you Defence Against the Dark Arts for the year, that is if it is true that Defence teachers normally leave after a year. Now today we will be learning about the Patronus charm, who can tell me what the Patronus charm is?"

Denisa, Remus, Lily, and several Ravenclaw's put their hands up along with James and Sirius . Whitewood smiled and raised her eyebrows and scanned the room for someone to ask, she then pointed at Remus "Yes, Mr..." She began

"Lupin, Professor, and the Patronus Charm is used as a shield against Dementors and Lethifolds and it conjures a spirit guardian. A Patronus is at its strongest when it is corporeal and it takes the form of an animal that is bright white and translucent and the animal depends on a person's personality; it's sort of a representation of the casters soul"

Whitewood snapped her fingers "Exactly right, Mr Lupin. Five points to Gryffindor. Now, we will be attempting this Charm for two weeks worth of lessons. Stand up please" She said and the class all stood up, Whitewood swished her wand and the tables and chairs were stacked up against a wall "Now, the incantation is '_Expect Patronum_' and the wand motion is a swirl" She said "To cast a Patronus you need to think of your happiest and strongest memory" Whitewood smiled at the class and raised her wand before swirling it while saying "_Expecto Patronum_" A bright white Sparrow emerged from her wand and flew around the classroom, every head followed its trail. The sparrow soon disappeared. "I want you to all get into spaces, you can work in pairs if you would like, and practice the Patronus Charm" Whitewood said and everyone shuffled around "You may begin"

Denisa and Lily stood off to one side of the room "You can go first" Denisa said

Lily shrugged "Okay," She began thinking, what was her happiest memory, her mind flashed to her parents then sister then to Denisa and Danny and then to the Marauders, she thought back to the day in the lake during summer and said "_Expecto Patronum_" Silver smoke emerged from her wand and Denisa clapped

"On your first try too" Denisa said but Lily looked slightly crest fallen "You would never have gotten a Corporeal Patronus on your first go, Lils, no one could"

Lily nodded "Your go" She said and Denisa raised her wand and thought about her brother and Lily and the conversations they had during the summer, she thought about the jokes they shared and the light teasing and said "_Expecto Patronum_" Silver smoke, much like Lily's emerged and she grinned

"That was good, Dee" Lily said and then she tried again

"Moony, you can try first" James said to Remus, the Marauders had decided to practice as a group "You too, Padfoot"

Remus nodded slightly and thought of his friends, he thought of Peter, Sirius and James, he thought about the fact that they never abandoned him even when they found out about his condition, that they became Animagi for him. Remus raised his wand and swirled it while he said "_Expecto Patronum_" Bright white mist flew from his wand meanwhile Peter only managed a dark grey wisp

James grinned as he clapped Remus on the back "That was awesome, Moony" He said

Sirius nodded "Brilliant" Sirius said and Remus blushed slightly and said "Your go, guys"

Sirius thought of James then of Remus and Peter, he thought of Dorea and Charlus who had taken him in and treated him like a son, he thought of Denisa and of Lily but just before he said the incantation his mothers scowling face; her narrowed dark blue eyes; her black, curly hair; her high cheek bones and pale white skin came into his mind her words echoed in his head _'You were never good enough and you never will be. No one will ever love or want you. You were never good enough and you never will be. No one will ever love or want you. You were never good enough and you never will be. No one will ever love or want you.' _Nothing came out of Sirius' wand and he shrugged as though it were nothing and watched the mass amount of white light glow from James' mahogany wand "That was great, Prongs" Sirius said with a tight smile as his mothers words still echoed around his head.

At the end of the lesson Sirius left without a word to anyone. James, Remus and Peter watched their friend leave and the three of them frowned "He'll want to be alone" James said to the girls and they nodded as they went to their next lessons or free periods. Remus and Lily had Arithmancy while James and Peter both had a free period and so did Denisa. James and Peter set off to the Gryffindor Common room.

Denisa decided that she was going to go find Sirius. She walked down to the lake but he wasn't there so she decided to go check by the Forbidden Forest. She knew Hagrid was in his hut as she heard him humming loudly to himself and she passed by it quickly. Sirius was lying on his back underneath a tree with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His eyes were closed and his cloak was off and folded messily under his head. His shirt was not tucked in, his tie was loosened and the three top buttons of his shirt were undone. Denisa walked towards him slowly and she winced as she stepped on a twig, Sirius' eyes snapped open and he looked at her for a moment before taking a drag of his cigarette and closed his eyes again

"Are you okay, Sirius?" Denisa asked slowly as she cautiously sat next to him with her back against the trunk of the Sycamore tree that Sirius was lying under.

He opened his grey eyes and looked at her and nodded slightly before taking his cigarette from his mouth and holding it up at her. She rolled her eyes at him and took it before placing it to her lips and taking a drag and passing it back. His eyes had widened slightly as though he had not expected her to actually have some and he smirked slightly before putting it to his lips again. Denisa blew the smoke out of her mouth in rings. "What are you doing out here?" Denisa said quietly

Sirius looked at her again "Free period" He said slowly "...And it's relaxing out here. Quiet"

Denisa nodded silently and accepted the cigarette from Sirius wordlessly and absent mindedly "It is pretty quiet" Denisa said, her voice was just above a whisper and she passed back the cigarette "I know that something is wrong with you an-" Denisa began but Sirius cut her off

"I don't feel like sharing, Nisa" He said simply then took a slow drag of the cigarette with a raised eyebrow

"I didn't expect you to and I don't really want you to either" Denisa said "If you have to sit here with a fag to feel better then that is what you should do"

Sirius gave her a small smile "Thanks, Nisa" He said before he budged up slightly on the grass and patted the long cloak pillow with a small, crooked smile, Denisa slowly laid down next to him with her head just touching his and accepted the cigarette again before taking a long drag and passing it back.

* * *

Lily looked up from her seat in front of the fire in the Head Quarters as James led Sirius, Remus, Peter and Denisa in. James took a seat on one of the sofas and Sirius sat next to him while Remus and Peter sat on another sofa and Denisa sat next to Lily.

"You guys are so lucky" Denisa said "We" She gestured to Sirius, Remus, Peter and herself "Have to share a Common room with the whole of Gryffindor and you two get this whole are to yourselves"

Lily grinned "Perks of being Head Girl and Boy" She said

"I miss having you in the dorm though" Denisa said "It is taking a lot of restraint to stop me from killing Blackthorn and Fabray"

"I miss you too" Lily said "It is so weird not having you in the bed next to mine"

"I hardly slept last night" James said "I was actually considering going back to the dorm" Sirius seemed to brighten up "It was way to quiet without Wormtail's snoring and Padfoot's shuffling"

Remus smirked "Well it was different not to hear you talking in your sleep" Remus said

James blushed "I don't talk in my sleep" He said through gritted teeth

"Oh, I beg to differ. You also moan a lot" Remus said happily

James groaned angrily and Remus said "Yeah, like that!"

"Denisa sleeps absolutely silently but it's the other girls that are annoying, Blackthorn snores like an asthmatic Hippogriff and Fabray always stays up until three in the morning doing homework so her wand is always keeping us up" Lily said

Denisa gave a small laugh "Whitney and Susan are okay though, they always put close their bed hangings and I've never heard them snore" Denisa said "Thank Merlin for that, and Fabray doesn't do homework, she was writing in her diary"

Lily raised an eyebrow "Seri- Really?" She said, Sirius grinned when she changed her sentence

"By the way, Denisa, are you coming to Quidditch try outs?" James asked and Denisa nodded "Good" James said "I hope you get in, Paul King, that annoying Sixth year, has signed up for Seeker and I cannot stand him. So you better be good enough to beat him and seven other people"

"But no pressure" Sirius said with a grin

"Oh, yes" Denisa said dryly "None at all"

* * *

Hallowe'en was over a month away but the Marauders had already started planning as they walked down the hallway for Transfiguration, happily submitting ideas to each other but just as they passed an open door to an empty classroom they heard it

"Regulus, congratulations" A hushed voice came from the empty classroom that turned out not to be so empty..

Sirius immediately froze, as did his friends who watched him cautiously but their eyes flickered to the open door then back to Sirius multiple times.

"Your family must be so proud" The voice continued "I know my family would be"

"They are" Regulus whispered proudly but there seemed to be a tinge of shame in his voice too "Especially Bella"

Sirius' face hardened as he walked towards the open door slowly

"I would imagine..." The voice said "Now, lets see it"

Sirius walked to the door just in time to see Regulus pull up his left sleeve revealing the Dark Mark, the skull with a snake protruding from its mouth, and Mulciber looking at it enviously and put his finger over it, not actually touching the skin but just hovering over the Mark

"I cannot believe this" Sirius whispered harshly with a deep scowl settling on his handsome face "_I cannot believe this!_" He repeated more forcefully

Mulicber and Regulus immediately turned towards him with surprised faces, Mulciber was the first to recover from the shock and he grinned wickedly at Sirius "Look, Regulus, your Blood-traitor of a brother is here. How lovely" Mulciber said coolly "Now that you're a servant of the Dark Lord you cannot talk to filth like him" Mulciber said to Regulus and sneered at Sirius who glared at him with hatred clear in his stormy grey eyes "He's disgusting and not worth any of your time, or mine for that matter"

Sirius whipped his wand out incredibly fast and pointed it at Mulciber and a royal blue hex shot at Mulciber, who barely ducked it while also pulling out his own wand and sending a spell back, it was dark purple in colour, Sirius put up a quick shield charm then sent a nasty neon yellow hex that skimmed over Mulciber's shoulders and singed the material of Mulciber's robe and blistered his skin at the shoulder. James and Remus immediately shot forwards to help Sirius but Sirius waved his wand at them furiously and they were sent back, along with Peter and Regulus, and had a Full-Body Bind on them, all eight eyes were wide and shifting as the hexes and curses were thrown. Mulciber and Sirius started duelling ferociously in the empty classroom, several desks were singed or broken as were many chairs. Sirius sent another spell and this time it hit Mulciber causing him to fall back against a book-case, large leather-bound books fell from the shelf and most pages broke from their bindings.

Mulciber stood up quickly and started firing spells, each of the spells was as dark as the previous, Sirius sent hexes and curses back just as quickly "How do you feel!? Huh?!" Mulciber said wildly and Sirius' jaw tightened "Knowing your brother is now a servant of the Dark Lord and has the Black family standing behind him while you," Mulciber gave a short, humourless laugh "You don't even have a family" He said with a dark smirk.

Something flickered in Sirius' eyes and he paused in shock for a moment and that moment was all it took for Mulciber to shoot curse that was dark purple and black in colour, the two colours swirled together and hit Sirius right in the chest, his eyes widened slightly before collapsing backwards onto the stone wall behind him, his grey eyes went slightly glassy before closing heavily. Mulciber grinned in victory as the Full-Body Binds that had been placed on James, Remus, Regulus and Peter ended, James, Remus and Peter immediately ran towards Sirius and began checking for pulses, Mulciber had left but Regulus stayed and stared at his brother's body that had gone limp. He needed to know whether his brother was going to be all right, he needed to know. Regulus felt as though his legs may collapse from beneath him as he watched his brothers best friends check Sirius over.

James felt like someone had just stabbed him with a hot iron rod right in the chest, his heart was beating so fast, he was terrified for his best friend, for his brother. Remus gulped as he put two fingers to Sirius' pale, white neck to check for a pulse and he sighed in relief when he felt dull, shuddering heart beats. Peter was anxiously watching while biting his nails. Sirius' whole body had gone so pale, as white as snow and he felt as cold as snow too.

"He's alive" Remus said, looking extremely relieved yet also grim "His pulse is weak though, we have to get him to Poppy"

James looked as though he were about to faint and nodded before conjuring a stretcher, they quickly loaded Sirius onto it and left quickly without a single word to Regulus who was still standing in shock with his eyes trained on the space that Sirius had occupied.

Regulus Black was left to wonder where it had all gone wrong for him and his brother.

* * *

"Where are they?" Denisa asked Lily as they stood behind their desks with two mirrors in front of them, their aims were to change their appearance, eyes, eyebrows, nose, cheeks etcetera.

Lily glanced to the back of the class where four chairs were unoccupied before she turned back to her friend "I honestly don't know" Lily said and bit her lips slightly "Do you have a bad feeling?"

Denisa nodded "I feel like something has happened... I just feel - weird" Denisa said with furrowed eyebrows she pointed her wand to her nose and said the incantation but nothing happened. Denisa scowled and put her wand on the desk "I cannot concentrate"

"Me neither" Lily admitted as she too placed her wand on the desk

"Do either of you know where Messrs Lupin, Pettigrew, Black and Potter are?" Professor McGonagall asked when she approached Denisa and Lily's desk to check up on their work "I honestly cannot believe they have already started skipping lessons! Potter is Head Boy, Lupin is a Prefect! It's as if they do not even care for their positions, not to mention it is N.E.W.T. year this year and they're not even showing up to their lessons" She shook her head "When you see either of them tell them I want a word in my office" Denisa and Lily nodded and McGonagall walked away to help a Slytherin who had Transfigured their ears into pineapples.

"Should we be worried?" Denisa said "It is the Marauders, they're always disappearing mysteriously, they may have found another secret passageway or something and want to explore it"

Lily shrugged her shoulders "I don't know, Dee, I don't know" Lily said

* * *

James, Remus and Peter sat outside the infirmary waiting, Madam Pomfrey had immediately taken Sirius inside to heal him and she told the three of them to wait outside. And it was torture. All James wanted to do was run and kill Mulciber so Remus had taken James' wand to prevent it.

"You know, Moony, I don't need a wand to kill him. I have always been quite good an Muggle Duelling" James grumbled and made to walk away but Remus pulled him back and James huffed before leaning onto a wall.

Remus leaned his head back against the wall, he couldn't speak, he didn't want to speak; He just wanted to know if Sirius was going to be okay. Peter was sitting on the floor with his hands clasped together as though in prayer. James was constantly running his hand through his hair, it had always been a nervous habit of his and he was doing it completely absent- mindedly. Remus was taking deep, shuddering breaths in an attempt to calm himself and trying to stop himself from getting up and going to find Mulciber himself, but he had to stay strong, for Padfoot, for Prongs and for Wormtail. Madam Pomfrey had, of course, asked who had performed the spell and the Marauders had said that they didn't see who it was, that the person attacked from behind and ran off. They knew it was Mulciber but they also knew that Sirius wouldn't want anyone to know his brother had gotten the Mark nor that he was even there. Despite everything the Marauders knew that Sirius loved Regulus and that he wanted the best for his little brother.

James closed his eyes as he massaged his temples and his eyes snapped open again "I can't stand this!" James all but shouted, his face was contorted with rage, anguish and desperation "I- _We_ just- we need to know if he is going to be all right" James' fists clenched and he could feel his nails digging into his palm "He's going to be all right, isn't he?" James seemed to be begging and Remus felt his calm demeanour break slightly as he looked at his friend, he couldn't even sum up the strength to nod, or even move as he watched his friend sink to the floor hopelessly, James' fists were at his eyes, his glasses had been removed, and he was rubbing them harshly "Why hasn't there been any news?" James asked dejectedly "I _need_ to know that my brother is going to be- that he's going to live- that he isn't going to-" He stopped himself with a strangled groan "_He's not going to leave us_"

Remus opened his mouth but no sound came out so he closed it again and sunk down next to James, Peter hadn't even looked up from his 'praying?', "Prongs," Remus' voice was scratchy and the back of his throat tickled slightly "It's Padfoot, he will not let himself die, especially now since he has an opportunity for revenge" Remus said and James gave a short laugh, it wasn't a happy one but a needed one "Padfoot- Padfoot is a fighter, Prongs. He fought his way out of his family and you think- think a curse from _Mulciber_ is going to drag him down? Padfoot would be insulted _and_ amused at you, Prongs"

James nodded slightly and ran his fingers through his untameable hair "You're right, Moony. I'm being an idiot" James said and took a deep, shuddering breath

Remus shook his head gently "No, Prongs, you're not being an idiot, you're worried about your friend and that is not idiotic at all" Remus said

James sighed heavily and drew his knees to his chest and rested his chin atop them. Remus placed his head against the cool surface of the wall, revelling in its chill. Peter still held his hands clasped together and was muttering words under his breath.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the large doors to the infirmary opened and Madam Pomfrey walked out looking slightly shaken and upset. James, Remus and Peter looked up immediately and stood up and she smiled gently, she could tell these boys were close; she had watched them stay with Remus in the Infirmary after Full-Moons for years, "He's going to be okay," She began "The magic used on him was Dark magic but the spell wasn't cast properly so it was weaker however, it was still strong enough to cause damage. I have healed him but he is still very weak and may need to be in the infirmary for at least a week. I have given him a Sleeping Potion so his body can recover"

Remus nodded "Can we see him?" He said and Pomfrey nodded before letting them into the infirmary

Sirius was extremely pale, his eyes were closed and his hair was tangled, he was in pyjamas and his lips parted just slightly. James gulped as he took a seat on a chair next to Sirius, Remus sat next to James and Peter sat on the other side of Sirius "Hey, Padfoot" James said "You know, I really think you should work on your duelling, I mean, come on Mulciber beat you..."

* * *

"Can you guys come and sleep over at the Heads Dorm?" James asked quietly; they were walking to the Gryffindor Common Room as Madam Pomfrey had kicked them out after they were in the Infirmary for four hours "It's more private, and I really cannot be alone now. We can all fit on my bed, I'm sure, it's massive and we've done it before" James rambled

"Yeah, Prongs, we'll come" Peter said as they neared the Fat Lady's portrait "You know what, you two wait out here, I'll go in quickly and get my PJs and Moony's along with our toothbrushes"

James nodded before extracting the Invisibility Cloak from his pocket "Take this" James said as he held out his hand to Peter "People will be wondering where we were all day and frankly I don't want people knowing about Padfoot yet"

Peter threw the Cloak over himself and disappeared from sight. Around five minutes later Peter was back with a bag. They stepped into the Heads Dorm and a voice called out from behind them "Hey! Where on Earth were you guys all day?" It was Lily, she and Denisa were standing next to the sofa with their arms crossed, Lily had an eyebrow raised and Denisa had both raised as she, much to her annoyance, could not raise only one eyebrow.

James, Remus and Peter jumped simultaneously and turned towards them looking sheepish and grim. Remus spoke first "It's Pa- Sirius, he got cursed by Mulciber. He's in the infirmary" Remus said

"What!" Denisa shouted looking furious, her voice was cold and she glared at the boys "Why didn't you tell us?" Denisa asked

James ran a hand through his locks "We thought about telling you but neither I nor Moony or Wormtail wanted to leave Padfoot" James said "We were too worried, we spent at least an hour and a half outside the hospital wing just waiting to be let in" James threaded his fingers through his hair again and sighed "We couldn't leave to tell you, I'm sorry" James shut his eyes tight and felt something wrap around his back tightly and then felt something wet soak through his white school shirt, he cracked an eye open and was met with the sight of dark red hair, knowing it was Lily, James wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and held onto her as if his life depended on it. Everything about her seemed to calm him down, all his stresses about Sirius, all his worries they just seemed to evaporate as he breathed in her scent, the intoxicating smell of lilies and vanilla from her shampoo and the rose smell of her perfume along with just a hint of Earl Grey tea. He felt himself relax slowly as the scent engulfed him, the exact smell of Amortentia. James' eyes fell shut again as he let himself get lost in bliss.

Lily felt tears roll down her face and into James' shirt but he didn't seem to care, he was a lot taller than Lily and his arms seemed to envelop her, they were muscular but not extremely so, his arms were firm and strong and held Lily tightly against his chest. His face had come to rest on her shoulder so he had to bend down slightly. Lily smiled slightly as she breathed in a strong scent of cinnamon, ink, broomsticks and the scent of James, just James, he always smelt amazing and he had his own original scent that was never on anyone else. Lily felt comforted, she felt safe as though nothing could ever hurt her while she was in James' arms, and the thought scared her, yes, but it also relieved her because she knew he felt the same way.

Neither James nor Lily had noticed when Remus and Peter exchanged knowing looks and grins before waking off to James' room, and no one noticed when Denisa left the Dorm with one thought on her mind.

When Lily and James finally pulled away from each other they both blushed deeply. James cleared his throat "Thanks for that, Evans. I needed it" James said with a smile that Lily returned nervously

"It's fine, Potter" Lily said, she smiled nervously and shifted slightly on her feet "Erm- I should be getting to bed" She said and awkwardly patted his head "Goodnight, Potter"

James grinned "Goodnight, Evans, sweet dreams" James said warmly and they walked into their separate rooms.

* * *

Denisa was breathing harshly as she ran down the corridors and to the infirmary, she had put a Disillusionment Charm on herself, something she had never even done before but she had remembered the incantation and thankfully it worked, she wasn't in the mood to get caught by a Professor she just wanted to see Sirius. She sighed in relief when she came to a halt in front of the infirmary and slowly opened the door, she smiled gently when it didn't creak, she slipped through the small gap that she made, she wasn't about to open the door fully as Madam Pomfrey would probably have seen, she then closed the door slowly behind her, she sucked in a deep breath when the door clicked closed and looked behind her but no one had heard. The infirmary was dark, Denisa suspected that Madam Pomfrey had gone to sleep, and all the bed were empty, except for one which held a small candle on a small table next to it. Denisa cast a '_Muffliato'_ charm at Pomfrey's door, probably the only good think that had come from Lily's friendship with Severus Snape. Denisa slowly walked towards Sirius' bed and sat on the chair next to it. She just stared at his form for a moments and studied him. His dark hair hung around his face, his eyes were closed and Denisa noticed how long his black eyelashes were they curled up slightly, his face was pale and clear, his cheekbones were strong yet not overly so, his jaw was chiselled and held a small amount of scruff, his nose was straight and his lips were a soft pink that stood out clearly in contrast to his white cheeks. He was beautiful, in truth. Denisa almost snorted in amusement as she remembered the story she had once read, 'Sleeping Beauty'. Denisa just watched him, she watched the small rise and fall of his chest, the way the candlelight bounced of his strong jaw and cheekbones, the way the light illuminated half of his face in golden. Denisa's eyes went down to Sirius' hand and she slowly took it, it felt cool but soft and she held it in her own considerably smaller hand.

"Why do you always have to be so reckless?" Denisa whispered "Why do you have to be so proud? Why do I always feel so worried about you?" Denisa's vision blurred with tears "Why do you have to make me feel this way?"

Denisa carefully lifted his hand up and placed a quick and light kiss on it before placing it back down. She covered his body in the blanket so he wouldn't be cold and then she stood up slowly, she wanted to stay but she needed to sleep and she shuddered to think what Madam Pomfrey would say if she found her. Denisa lifted her fingers to Sirius' face and moved his dark hair from his face, she then traced his face with her fingertips, so lightly that she almost didn't touch him, and then placed a small kiss on his cheek before leaving the infirmary just as quietly as she came in.

* * *

The next morning James, Remus and Peter went to visit Sirius who was still asleep as the potion had still not worn off.

"Come on, Padfoot! Get up already you lazy shit" James said as he poked Sirius' face

"Prongs!" Remus hissed but James didn't stop the poking as he began jabbing his fingers into Sirius' sides and stomach "Prongs, stop!" Remus took hold of James' hands but James shook him off "Wormtail, help me" Remus said to Peter who stood up immediately and went to help

"Gerrof me, Prongs!" A groggy voice said, instantly James, Remus and Peter stilled and looked over at Sirius but he wasn't moving or awake. James raised an eyebrow and bent over Sirius to inspect him but Sirius didn't shift. Remus and Peter exchanged looks and then looked back at Sirius

Three screams were heard as Sirius sat upright with a screech and James, Remus and Peter stumbled back against the curtain that shielded Sirius from view. Sirius cracked up laughing as he leaned back on his pillows "Merlin's red, lacy thong that was fun!" Sirius said in between chuckles

"How long have you been awake!" Remus demanded and Peter nodded as he held a hand over his chest in an attempt to calm his pounding heart

Sirius smiled and fluffed up his pillows then sat back and shuffled slightly as he tried to get comfortable, he then placed his long fingers together and looked at each of his friends as they waited expectantly and impatiently "Well Prongs' bloody poking woke me" Sirius said as though it were obvious "Those thin, gangly fingers were like twigs and those nails," Sirius glared at James "It hurt, I bet the bruises are already forming" Sirius then pulled up his white pyjama shirt and looked at the skin where James had poked him and he gasped dramatically "Prongs! You've scarred me" Sirius said

James raised an eyebrow and looked at the mark less skin "You little shit, there's nothing there" James said in an almost fond voice

Sirius huffed and rubbed his stomach as it growled "I'm hungry" He said

Remus pulled out a bar of Honeydukes chocolate from his pocket and handed it slowly to Sirius who widened his eyes and his mouth became a perfect O shape, James and Peter's jaws dropped. Remus wasn't looking at his outstretched hand or Sirius but at the floor as though he were pained.

"Moony, you're giving Padfoot your chocolate" Peter said in wonder

Remus nodded curtly

"Are you sure, Moony" Sirius said "You don't have to do this, I'm sure Poppy can get me something"

Remus nodded slowly "Take it" He whispered "Take it"

Sirius slowly accepted the chocolate "Bu- But Moony, you never give people your chocolate" Sirius said

Remus turned away from the Sirius, James and Peter "I cannot be selfish" Remus said "It- It's only chocolate" Remus' voice broke as he said this and there was an intake of breath from Sirius, James and Peter who looked as though they were about to faint

"Only chocolate?" James croaked "Moony, how can you say that? What has gotten into you?"

Remus shook his head "I need some time" He said quickly "Enjoy it Padfoot, I-I've got to go" Remus ran out of the infirmary and there was a stunned silence as Sirius stared at the chocolate bar in his hand, James stared at the door and Peter was slumped in a chair next to Sirius' bed

"Mr Black! You're awake!" Madam Pomfrey shouted and Sirius and James were brought out of their dazes and they looked up at the Healer as she scurried towards them with her wand "Why was I not told about this?" She glanced at Peter and waved her wand at him and he slowly opened his eyes and rubbed them with his palms while James and Sirius listened to Madam Pomfrey's long lecture about how she was the Healer and she needed to know if her patient had woken up so they could drink their potions, then she proceeded to shove a turquoise potion at Sirius and it tasted like molten spinach.

* * *

Lily and Denisa were sitting on a sofa in the Heads Dorm talking "Slughorn is nice enough, Lils, but he acts like everyone is a trophy that he can showcase on a shelf" Denisa said with a sigh "He's constantly bragging about the people he's taught and that have gone off to work in the Ministry as though he had something to do with it. But, I guess he did sort of help, he does seem to know a lot of people, which is good for you Lily, he could probably help you become a Healer" Denisa tilted her head slightly "He is quite fond of you" Denisa noticed that Lily's green eyes had gone slightly glassy and she wasn't blinking but staring ahead "Yeah, so I shagged him, I thought it would help me get a job in the Ministry. Now I've sworn of men, it was absolutely disgusting, so I like girls now. You know Lily, you have always been quite pretty. How about you be my girlfriend?"

Lily nodded absent- mindedly but her eyes still stared ahead and her eyebrows were furrowed in thought "Oh! You will be, that is excellent! So, you're my girlfriend now, Lils, I cannot wait to tell James"

"What did you say about Potter?" Lily asked as she whipped her head around to look at Denisa

Denisa raised her eyebrows in amusement "I said that I cannot wait to tell James that we're dating" Denisa said happily

"Right" Lily said before her eyes widened "Wait, what?!"

"Yes, you're my girlfriend now, Lils" Denisa said "I told you that I shagged Slughorn and it put me off men and that I liked girls now and then I said that I had always thought you were quite pretty so I asked you out and you nodded and then I said excellent and that I couldn't wait to tell James" She finished in one breath and grinned at Lily who stared at her blankly

Lily sucked in a breath and said "Denisa, we need to talk. I think we should see other people, I think we're just meant to be friends"

Denisa held up her hand and looked at Lily tearfully "I know what your doing- your breaking up with me!" Denisa said incredulously "Do you now love me any more? What have I done, I can fix it"

Lily smirked slightly "It's not you, it's me" Lily said and attempted to hug Denisa but Denisa pushed her away "I'm just not ready for a serious relationship"

"Well you should have thought of that before we started going out! Three years, Lily Marie Evans, three years!" Denisa shouted exaggeratedly "Am I too fat? Because I can go on a healthy diet and exercise more, I promise" Denisa said "I will, I'll do anything to get you back, Lily"

Lily shook her head and said "We're just two different people, it would never have worked out, better to cut ties now"

Denisa stood up furiously, "Stop! Merlin this is a clichéd break up!" Denisa said with a shake of her head as though the thought sickened her "And we always prided ourselves on not being clichéd, you've ruined our relationship and you have ruined our break up!" Denisa stamped her foot on the ground and Lily fought the grin that was forming on her face

"I'm sorry, but this is for the best. Our relationship wasn't working" Lily said "I-"

Lily did not finish her sentence as the Portrait hole just opened and Remus walked in looking grim "Sirius is awake" He said "And I gave him my chocolate"

Denisa and Lily gasped "Remus, you- you're chocolate" Denisa said cautiously, forgetting bout the fake break up with Lily completely and instead began watching Remus concernedly "Are- Are you all right?"

Remus grimaced "Ye- yeah I am fine" He croaked

Denisa's eyes suddenly widened "Hang on, did you say Sirius was awake?" She said

Remus nodded and Denisa shot of running she passed a group of Hufflepuffs and soon enough she was at the infirmary. She slowed her run to jog and then to a walk before opening the doors and walking inside. Sirius was sitting up in his bed, an unopened bar of Honeydukes chocolate was on his lap and Peter and James were nowhere to be seen. Sirius looked up when he heard the door open and smiled when Denisa came in, she immediately rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, he reacted straight away and wrapped his own arms around Denisa's waist, he pulled her up to sit next to him on the bed

"You are an idiot, Sirius Black" Denisa said as she pulled away and sat on the chair next to Sirius' bed

Sirius merely grinned at her "And why is that Denisa Wilson?" He said

"Do you realise how worried I- er - we were about you?"

"I know you were" Sirius said "And I'm sorry that I worried you"

Denisa crossed her arms "I wasn't the only one" She mumbled but Sirius was looking at her ponytail with slightly narrowed eyes

"You know I don't like it when your hair is up, Nisa" Sirius said with a small huff

Denisa raised her eyebrows but a smile was playing on her lips as she tightened the ponytail, Sirius scowled and raised his hand and slowly pulled out the hair band until Denisa's waist length brown hair was flowing down her back and shoulders, Denisa's hair was incredibly thick. each strand like a piece of fine string.

A knock was heard as a head of blonde hair appeared in the doorway, it was Precious. Her brown eyes looked lovingly at Sirius as she rushed forward and began peppering wet, sloppy kisses all over his cheeks and forehead. Denisa sat stiffly in her chair and she began putting her hair back into its tight ponytail whie she looked at her lap, not even noticing the look of discomfort and disgust that had graced Sirius' handsome features.

"I was _so_ worried about you, I _only_ just found out. I heard your friends talking about you and I just had to see you" Precious said as she hopped up onto Sirius' bed, nearly landing on his legs, that would have been extremely painful, but luckily Sirius moved just in time "Honestly, Siwi-bweh I was so wowwied about you" Precious had taken to pinching Sirius cheeks, Denisa let out a small cough and Precious' face suddenly snapped towards Denisa "_What are you doing here?_" Precious no longer had her high, girlish voice but a cold voice "You have no business here with Sirius!"

"Precious! Merlin's baggy arse, what is wrong with you?" Sirius said angrily

Precious ignored him "Sirius is mine! You can't steal him from me!" She said shrilly

Sirius glared at Precious "Nisa is one of my best friends, I'll have you know" He said coolly, Denisa felt her heart sink slightly, '_best friends_?' was that the only way he saw her? She noticed his gaze had gone to her ponytail again and something like sadness seemed to flicker in his eyes

"I hadn't realised that Sirius was an item that you could own" Denisa said casually with her arms folded and she leaned back on her chair

"He doesn't want you here, get it through your thick skull or has that ponytail killed your brain?" Precious spoke slowly as though Denisa was a foreigner that didn't understand English

Sirius looked mutinous and was about to speak and probably throw a few choice swear words and insults at Precious but was cut of when Denisa stood up abruptly "I should go" She said

Precious nodded and smiled "Yes you should, I would love some alone time with Siri" She said, her smile showed her seemingly perfect white teeth but Denisa noticed a small chip in one of her front teeth.

"Nisa, you don't have to go" Sirius said, almost pleadingly and he tried to get up but Precious pushed him firmly back onto the bed with her hand on his chest

Denisa put on her fake smile, something she had perfected over the years "It's fine, I was going to go see Hagrid anyway" Denisa said, it was a lie she had not planned on going to Hagrid's but she might as well now.

"You mean that big oaf that lives in that horrendous little hut?" Precious asked distastefully

"Yes, he's a friend" Denisa said coldly, it was one thing to insult her but another to insult her friends in front of her "Not that you would know anything about friendship" Denisa looked at Sirius and he was looking at her, almost begging her to stay with his eyes "Bye, Sirius" Denisa then turned on her heel and left the room.

Precious tutted "Her uniform doesn't fit her well at all, did you see how baggy it was?" Precious said "Honestly, she's probably hiding rolls of fat under it"

Sirius stared at Precious in disbelief and scowled at her "Actually, Nisa is probably in better shape than most girls in this school" Sirius said with a slightly dazed expression

Precious narrowed her eyes at him "How would you know that?" She demanded

Sirius smiled pleasantly but their was a coldness in his eyes "Summer was so lovely this year, don't you agree?" Said Sirius as an answer

Precious then noticed the chocolate bar on his lap "Sirius! Chocolate, do you know how fat that can make you?" She shouted

Madam Pomfrey emerged from her office looking near murderous "What do you think you are doing girl?" Pomfrey asked "Mr Black needs rest, the only people who I have permitted to visit him are Miss Evans and Wilson and Misters Potter, Pettigrew and Lupin"

Precious scowled, it seemed as though it were the only thing she knew how to do, "Why are they allowed and I'm not?" She asked sulkily

"They are all close friends to Mr Black and were extremely worried about him, they also do not shout in my infirmary" Pomfrey narrowed her eyes slightly and her lips thinned so much that it would have made Minerva McGonagall proud "They do not disturb me, Mr Black or any other patients. You however, are giving me a migraine that no potion will cure and Mr Black needs his potions" Pomfrey pointed to the door "Off you trot now"

Precious scowled again and left, Sirius noticed that she walked with her back curved slightly so her breasts and bum were thrown outwards. Shaking his head, Sirius turned to Madam Pomfrey "Where are the potions?" He asked dejectedly, they all tasted disgusting

Madam Pomfrey smiled "What are you talking about, Mr Black?" She said and Sirius grinned widely

"Thank you, Poppy" Sirius said as he slumped onto his pillows happily

* * *

James sat waiting for Lily to come downstairs so that they could start Rounds. He was still in his uniform but her had gotten rid of his jumper, his tie was loose and the top few buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned and his Head Boy badge was pinned to his cloak. He ruffled his hair absent- mindedly as Lily finally emerged from her room, she too was in her school uniform, and like James her tie was loose and her top two buttons were undone. She smiled when she made her way towards him, James hardly noticed the large smile that had overcame his face as he beamed at her.

"M'Lady" James said and offered her his arm, Lily took it with a giggle and a small curtsy, James tilted his head back as he laughed "Oh Merlin, did you just curtsy?" He asked

Lily smiled "Yes, now you have to give me a bow" Lily said and laughed as James stooped into a ridiculously low bow worthy of a House Elf "Fantastic, let's go!"

They aimlessly walked down the cold, stone hallways of Hogwarts and had not caught a single student out of bed "Do you want to play twenty questions?" Lily asked

James turned towards her with a look of confusion etched on his face "What?" James said

"Twenty questions" Lily repeated "I ask you twenty questions and you ask me twenty questions, but we have to answer truthfully"

James shrugged "All right, you can start" James said

Lily thought for a moment "What's your favourite colour?" She said

"Green," James answered immediately, almost instinctively and blushed bright pink "Er - What is your favourite colour?"

"Purple or blue" Lily said "I've never decided, what is your favourite animal?"

James ran his fingers through his hair and bit his lip slightly, Lily felt something hot run through her and looked away from him, "Stags" James decided "But I do have a soft spot for dogs, wolves and rats" James grinned as Lily gave a small laugh "What is your favourite band?" James asked

Lily let out a groan "I don't know, I love The Beatles and Queen the same amount, this is like making a parent pick their favourite child!" Lily groaned again "Why did you do this to me?"

"Because it was fun, and that counts as a question" James said with a grin while Lily glared at him "My go, who was your first kiss?"

Lily blushed scarlet "You remember" She mumbled and James looked innocent as he shook his head "Second year, the mistletoe"

James tapped his finger on his chin "Nope, doesn't ring any bells" He said

Lily looked at her feet "When I got stuck under it because of Peter and you kissed me so I could get out from underneath it" Lily said

James grinned "That was fun, until you slapped me afterwards, but still it was fun" James ran his hand through his dark hair again

"Why do you always mess up you hair?" Lily asked

James glanced at her with a smirk "Because, as you so eloquently put it in fifth year, it makes me look like I just got off of a broom" James said, but Lily merely raised her eyebrows and James sighed "Fine, it's a nervous habit"

"A nervous habit."

"Yes, you must have noticed that I do it around you a lot because, well, you make me nervous" James said quickly

"Potter, calm down" Lily said with a smile "You don't need to be nervous around me, we're f- friends, right?"

James felt a stab at the word 'Friends' but said nothing "Of course we are, Evans, but you have to admit, the messy hair does make me look cooler" James said

"If you say so, Potter" Lily said with a smile "Your go to ask me a question"

"What are your family like?" James said, he seemed to hesitate

Lily glanced at him "Well, my Mum loves gardening, at home we have a lovely garden with so many flowers and she used to let me help her with it. She also loves to cook even though she is terrible and nearly always burns the food, one time she made Shepherds pie and it was over cooked on the top and undercooked at the bottom, she insisted it was the ovens fault, she is so caring, compassionate, happy, kind; everyone loves her. She is friends with all the neighbours, she is just a friendly person" Lily said, her eyes glowed as she spoke of her family "My dad, my dad loves sports, he never misses a game of football on the Telly, he is such a good dad, he used to take me and Tu- Petunia to football games with him, Petunia would sulk and fall asleep but I would stay up because I loved watching dad, he was always so happy when watching a game. You know, he could have become a football player but her messed up his knee pretty bad, but he isn't bitter about it because he met my mother at the hospital, she was a nurse there and they fell in love. They always tell us the story of how they got together on their anniversary, I know it off by heart now. They've been together for twenty-two years and they're still so happy" Lily smiled "I hope I'm that happy with my husband, twenty years in" Lily paused for a moment "Petunia - my sister - and I used to be so close. We would go to the park together and play on the swings, we would play with dolls in the living room, watch Disney movies about princesses and princes, Petunia favoured Sleeping Beauty while I favoured Cinderella. When my Hogwarts letter came everything changed, Petunia started ignoring me, making snide comments, shoving and pushing me. I knew she was jealous, she wished she had magic too and so do I " Lily took a breath and looked at her feet so that James wouldn't see the tears that had welled up in her eyes "I really miss her" James watched as a tear fell from her eye and hit the floor

"Lily" James said slowly as he came to a pause, Lily stopped to but wouldn't look at him, James knew no words would help her so instead he gave pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her tightly, at first she was frozen but she soon relaxed and returned the hug. James soon let go of Lily and looked around the hallway and sighed "Patrol is so boring, we haven't even caught a couple snogging in a broom closet" James huffed and Lily let out a shaky laugh as she wiped away all traces of tears from her face. She watched as James' face suddenly brightened and he pulled out a piece of old and rumpled parchment and presented it to Lily as though it were a Gringotts Vault full of gold Galleons. Lily hesitantly took it and looked down at it then back at James

"It's a piece of old parchment, Potter" Lily said with a raised eyebrow

James gasped as though he had just been mortally offended and he clutched at his heart and stumbled back against a stone wall "Evans! How can you say that?" He took the parchment back into his hands and softly cradled it like a new born baby, Lily watched with amusement as he pulled out his wand and tapped it onto the parchment and said "_I Solemnly Swear that I am up to no good_" Lily, who had watched uninterested, perked up as she watched the parchment as ink seemed to spill out of it and form the words

_Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs_

_Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers_

_Are Proud to Present_

_THE MARAUDERS MAP_

Lily felt her jaw drop as James unfolded the parchment and showed the map, he grinned at her reaction "You made this!?" Lily asked

"Yes we did" James said proudly "In fifth year"

"This is extremely advanced magic!" Lily said as she watched Dumbledore's name walk around his office "You Marauders never seize to amaze me. You, Sirius and Peter decided to become Animagi to help someone you had only known for two years, you actually achieved becoming Animagi at fifteen years old, the three of you are probably the youngest people to become Animagi, ever. You even created a map of the bloody school with secret passageways and it shows where everyone in the school is" Lily seemed breathless "The four of you are incredibly intelligent, loyal, funny and all out amazing guys"

"Not to mention devilishly handsome" James said with a grin as he ruffled his hair, this time consciously

Lily smiled and nodded "And devilishly handsome" She said, James' eyes widened as he blushed deeply, and then Lilt pointed at a broom closet on the Map where to students were now occupying "This just got a lot more interesting"

"I'll say" James said and followed as Lily walked off to find the broom closet. Soon enough they arrived and Lily happily opened the door to reveal a flustered Ravenclaw fourth year girl and a Gryffindor fourth year boy, both had extremely messy hair as they emerged shamefully out of the closet. James pointed at their heads "We match!" He said happily and the couple both glared at him while Lily hid her laugh behind her hand "Erm... Lets see five points from each of you for snogging in a broom closet and - hm - a detention each for being out after hours"

"You're going to take points from your own House!" The Gryffindor boy said incredulously

James puffed out his chest "I am Head Boy, I have to be fair and responsible so yes, I am going to take points from my House, now off with you now, back to your Common rooms"

The two students sulked off and James shouted after them "I'll know whether you went back to your dorms!"

James turned to Lily "Five points to Gryffindor, I think, for my astounding fairness" James said

Lily said nothing but a smile played on her lips "Shut up, Potter" She said and lightly pushed him with her shoulder

"You love me, Evans" James said and he pushed her back slightly

* * *

**I was wondering about whether or not to kill of Denisa near the end of the story or have an AU sequel where Denisa doesn't believe that Sirius is guilty and tries to get him out of Azkaban and have a lot of Harry in the story too. Please review to tell me which option is better.**

**Also a special thanks to all those who have reviewed this story: Alicegator, Half-Blood Wizard Tribute 666, Applejax XD, , joirda, Luna, . and the five guests, whoever they may be. I really love getting opinions on the story so thank you so much!**


End file.
